Cardinal Francis George's 50-Year Anniversary Gala

12-20-13

I watched news clips today of the celebration marking Chicago's Cardinal Francis George's 50th anniversary as a priest. 

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/cardinal-george-praised-by-columnist-for-outspoken-vigor/

During the mass, as he faced the congregation at Holy Name Cathedral, I noted the array of cardinals that were seated behind him in semicircles. I understand that they came from all over. I noted that they were all white. If there were Latinos in the group, they were white Latinos.  Not one dark face. Even though there are African cardinals they were not on the altar behind Cardinal George.

After Mass, the celebration was continued at Chicago's exclusive Drake Hotel. The finery was well displayed by the TV shots. This pomp and circumstance has not been promoted by Pope Francis. 

Cardinal George has reached the mandatory retire age (75). I understand that his date of retirement is near. One TV station commentator named three serious candidates. One of them is Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Atlanta. 

Racism and sexism remain stains on the souls of the white male-dominated Roman Catholic hierarchy. African American bishops/archbishops continue to be locked out of membership in the lofty “College of Cardinals” even though there are many who should be members.

Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory of Atlanta, Georgia is a prime example of an African American who should be a member of that group of “princes of the Roman Catholic Church.” Archbishop Gregory was converted to Roman Catholic Catholicism while attending Chicago’s St. Carthage Grammar School. One would think that his impeccable credentials are reasons for him to have been inducted into the College of Cardinals many years ago. 

He was vice president and later president of the U.S. Catholic Bishop’s Conference and under his leadership the Catholic bishops implemented the “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.” He has authored several books and is the recipient of numerous awards. The admiration he received from non-Catholics is evidenced by the fact that he was inducted into the Martin Luther King Board of Preachers at Morehouse College in Atlanta.

If, by any chance, African Americans were nominated to be inducted as cardinals, it behooves the Catholic hierarchy to make known such an effort. If no such nominations were made, it behooves the Catholic hierarchy to explain why African Americans are not in the College of Cardinals. 

 

If Gregory is not elevated to the position of cardinal, it will say a lot about the state of the Roman Catholic Church. Since Archbishop Gregory distinguished himself as a Chicago priest and a bishop in a diocese in Illinois, he is a natural for the position.

Tea Party Politics - Playing the Race Card

After centuries of the papacy's ostentation, greed, mismanagement and corruption God has sent a craftsman in the person of Pope Francis to repair the broken arm of the chair of St. Peter. Pope Francis, to date, has opened the doors and windows of the papacy in his focus on the poor and marginalized people of God who need help. Hopefully, the appointments he has made and will make will prove to be fruitful. The pageantry, pomp and circumstance that have characterized the Vatican persona of the past appear to be rituals of the past. 

 

I hope and pray that the glaring ecclesiastical leadership flaws in the United States will reach the attention of Pope Francis. The lack of African American cardinals is a void that emanates from local levels in the United States.  There needs to be a serious examination of the process that has enabled the various ethnic priests to ascend to the level of cardinal and the conscious or unconscious manipulations that have contributed to the exclusion of African Americans. 

I mailed to Pope Francis a copy of my book, INSTITUTIONAL RACISM AND THE CATHOLIC CHURCH, TURNING FROM A TROUBLED PAST TO A MORE INCLUSIVE FUTURE. In the cover letter I implored the Pope to use the influence of his office to address the racial injustices that permeate the Roman Catholic Church within the United States. It is questionable as to whether the package will ever reach Pope Francis, but I feel good about having made an effort to have my voice heard.

Another area of immorality and injustice that the Roman Catholic hierarchy in the United States needs to address is the blatant disregard by so-called Tea Party groups to demean the presidency of Barack Obama. These groups have demonstrated a determination to dismantle the United States government in order to muddy President Obama's presidency. President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama have borne the brunt of racist characterizations that have received much media attention. Civil Rights icon, John Lewis, was spit upon by individuals within a Tea Party protest group that was in the Capital.

These discriminatory acts are not just private emotional and personal sentiments, they are a system of an immoral force that violates and nullifies tents incorporated in the Ten Commandments. I would project that if a poll was taken among Tea Party members it would reveal that they profess to be Christians with a sizable number being of the Roman Catholic faith. Hopefully, level heads within the government will prevail and make the United States the "more perfect union" it was meant to be.

 

The Catholic Church has Wide-Reaching Influences

Since writing my book Institutional Racism and the Catholic Church, I've been reaching out to the Catholic press to publish articles, and to date no one will accept a feature article. My requests for interviews have also not been responded to. Recently, a significant Catholic magazine first agreed to place an ad for my book in their online publication, then rescinded that approval. Here was the ad graphic:

Although the Catholic Church has wide-reaching influences, I am hopeful that some agency/group/influential individual will become aware of my book and respond regardless of the title.  Bottom-up Catholics are afraid to openly criticize the church, and the hierarchy, fearful of losing influence, has been successful intimidating its underlings. 

A case in point is Father Bryan N. Massingale, the author of RACIAL JUSTICE and the CATHOLIC CHURCH.  If you recall, I used him as a source in the racism book.  He is in "left field" all by himself.  When I have mentioned his name in conversation with Catholics, lay and religious, they raise their eyebrows and clam up.  He is an associate professor at Marquette University and from all appearances, he is respected by his predominately white students.  I suspect that his salary is augmented by his numerous speaking engagements that are not well publicized.

Electing a New Pope - A Fundamental Flaw

For those of you who have read my book, Institutional Racism and the Catholic Church, this post is a reflection on a serious problem that exists in the selection process for a new pope.

Newly elected Pope Francis I has, to date, modeled the qualities of what the papacy should signify – modesty, humility, concern for the “common” people, peace, etc. He was elected by the College of Cardinals from whose membership popes are currently chosen. Membership in the College of Cardinals encompasses a variety of ethnic groups – Italians, Irish, Germans, Polish, Chinese, Koreans, Africans, and Latinos. The profiles of these groups are similar to their American Catholic counterparts.

Americans were hopeful that an American cardinal would be elected pope, touting two cardinals considered, by Americans, to meet the qualities expected of a pope. However, that was not the case.  The cardinals chose to elect Pope Francis I who is of mixed parentage (Caucasian and Latino). CONSPICUOUSLY ABSENT FROM THE COLLEGE OF CARDINALS ARE AFRICAN AMERICANS, and the fact that no African American is a member of this “elite” group, smacks of nepotism and elitism as well as racism. A cursory examination of the ethnicity of American cardinals and the paths they followed culminating in their appointments as cardinals support the charge of nepotism and elitism as well as racism.
 


For many years African American men were denied admission to Caucasian seminaries, Diocesan and Order seminaries. Once accepted, some or all experienced racism. (See references in my book, Institutional Racism and the Catholic Church.) Two seminaries, however, are credited with having been the first to train African American men for the priesthood. They are the Society of the Divine Word based in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi and St. Joseph Seminary based in Baltimore, Maryland. Other seminaries, Diocesan and Order, began accepting African American priesthood candidates generations after their founding.  

U.S. Roman Catholic decision makers, along with the larger society, have followed the same pattern of discriminating against African Americans. It appears that the lack of African American cardinals has never been seriously considered among the U.S. Roman Catholic hierarchy.Below from the lowest to the highest are clergy levels  before the level of pope. The Cardinal level is the level just below that of pope.Below from the lowest to the highest are clergy levels  before the level of pope. The Cardinal level is the level just below that of pope.


1)      Priest
2)      Monsignor
3)      Bishop
4)      Archbishop
5)      Cardinal

Caucasian priests who became cardinals were trained either in Diocesan seminaries or Order seminaries and their upward progressions appear to have been fostered by influential individuals within those domains. The long-standing exclusion of African Americans from the College of Cardinals, and the prejudicial acts perpetrated against African Americans, by some, not all, Roman Catholics, continue to follow the same pattern as the larger society. Hopefully, Pope Francis will become aware of the exclusion of African Americans from the College of Cardinals and will put into motion procedures to correct the injustices.  


Caucasian priests who became cardinals were trained either in Diocesan seminaries or Order seminaries and their upward progressions appear to have been fostered by influential individuals within those domains. The long-standing exclusion of African Americans from the College of Cardinals, and the prejudicial acts perpetrated against African Americans, by some, not all, Roman Catholics, continue to follow the same pattern as the larger society. Hopefully, Pope Francis will become aware of the exclusion of African Americans from the College of Cardinals and will put into motion procedures to correct the injustices.  


Unfortunately there are no seminaries founded by African Americans. However, it would appear that after accepting and ordaining African American men, Caucasian seminary leaders would have been at the forefront in promoting a process whereby African American priests would, at least, be consider cardinal candidates.  Caucasians who eventually reached the level of cardinal were either trained in Diocesan seminaries or in Order seminaries. Diocesan seminaries were established in city/state municipalities for the purpose of training priests to service parishes in those municipalities. Order seminaries were established by clerics who named their particular Orders after men who were declared saints. (Franciscan Orders have been named after St. Francis and Dominican Orders have been named after St. Dominic.) Priests in Order seminaries may be assigned to settlements throughout the world. For example, the Capuchin Franciscan Order of Friars has priests in two or more of the six continents.

Bishop Wilton Gregory of the Atlanta, Georgia Archdiocese is the lone African American archbishop. Bishop Gregory is a former chair of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops. He proved to be an effective administrator in two of his previous appointments (Chicago, Illinois and Bellwood, Illinois). He and other select African American priests/bishops, without any doubt, possess the qualities of what is expected of a cardinal.  A cursory examination of their educational achievements and their experiential backgrounds are testament to their abilities to be effective cardinals.