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PAGE 2—The Southern Cross, September 27,1973
A “DIFFERENT” PERSPECTIVE
To Be Black and Catholic in the United States
SR. CALLISTA ARM AND, S.S.F.
Catechesis, or the effective
development and formation of the
Christian community in its faith-life is
essential to the realization of the
Church’s mission. It is important for the
whole church, if the church is to
survive.
In a society such as America’s, which
is culturally pluralistic, and which has so
recently undergone prolonged,
traumatic experiences, a fresh, uniquely
different approach to Catechesis is
needed.
Up to the present time, the content
of methodology of Religious Education
has been shaped mainly by the
dominant culture group. The
assumption has, for the most part, been
to act as if all people are exactly alike.
Such an attitude presumes that
people’s experiences are the same, that
they see things in the same way, that
they learn in the same ways, and that
their response to what they learn is the
same. Consequently, the process of
Religious Education for all people has
been based on the values and
experiences of white society.
In the late 1960’s a profound
transaction in aspirations, goals and
philosophy swept through the black
Community. It was almost as if black
Americans were struck by a new and
sudden illumination -- bringing deep
insights into their status in America.
Really the insights were not new.
Black Catholics at national convention discuss their role in the church and society
Rather, they were the product of
accumulated experiences which the
information explosion enabled us to
share so much more widely and directly.
The end result of this transition was
that Western values were reappraised,
predominantly white institutions were
reassessed, and black identity (seeing
the goodness and value in one’s own
origins, history and culture) became the
number one goal. Black youth were
most radically affected by this shift in
value systems.
The net effect of a transformed Black
America has been a series of major
challenges to the Catholic Church in the
black Community. Its very credibility
was and is questioned. In the
EXPERIENCES- of black Catholic
youth, they encounter little or nothing
incorporating their history and
tradition, reflecting their social and
community values. The obvious
conclusion - there is an incompatibility
between the practice of Christianity and
the retention of a black identity.
How do Directors of Religious
Education cope with this dilemma? The
temptation is to rush for “resources” --
i.e., materials which can be patched
into a curriculum that is already set.
What kind of records (soul music)
should we use? Are there any tapes or
films available? Could you recommend
some speakers?
In relating Religious Education to the
Black Experience, something far more
fundamental is demanded. The
Religious Education instructor’s
orientation and perspective-,
must be broadened, if not changed
altogether. Inasmuch as the instructor is
approaching a different cluture, he or
she must develop a genuine
understanding of and respect for the
values of that culture.
For Black America this means
understanding three particularly
important concepts:
1. the world-view -- in which the
“secular” and the “sacred” are not seen
separately but as co-extensive;
2. the impact of religious traditions
derived from African origins and
translated into the Black Religious
Experience in America;
3. the living value, goals and
objectives that shape daily life in the
black community -- notions about
family, sharing, community,
celebration.
Only on the foundations of these
concepts can a sound, systematic
catechesis be built.
The National Office for Black
Catholics has already begun the research
and study preliminary to developing
both a curriculum and resource
materials for Religious Education in the
black community. The coming year
should see significant progess in this
area.
FUTURE DIRECTIONS
National Office for Black Catholics
BRO. JOSEPH M. DAVIS, S.M.
Despite a long history of contact with
black people in America, the Catholic
Church had made little progress among
them.
When the Civil Rights struggle of the
1960’s erupted into “Black Power” and
then moved into Black Nationalism,
even that little progress was threatened.
Young and middle-aged black Catholics,
especially, began to search for religious
or quasi-religious institutions that not
only gave black people opportunities for
total participation, but also encouraged
and fostered their culture, heritage and
identity.
The tensions of this social transition
cost altogether too many vocations
among black priests, brothers and
sisters. The temper of the times simply
left a predominantly white Church, and
its black members, suspect.
Clearly, answers to some weighty
questions were needed.
In many ways, the formation of the
National Office for Black Catholics was
a unique event in the Church. It was not
decreed by the hierarchy. It was not a
“possible solution” developed by a
bureaucratic structure. Rather, black
Catholics recognized that the
credibility, survival, and renewal of the
Church in the black community was
their own responsibility, and they set
about creating the structure that would
achieve these goals.
NOBC represents a real milestone in
the history of black Catholics in
America-a major sign of the transition
from a missionary status to a firmly
rooted indigenous Church.
In the three years of its existence,
NOBC has worked toward the
achievement of its objectives through
programs related to the needs evident in
both society and the Church:
1) To provide a means by which
black Catholics could assume a larger
responsibility for the Church in the
black community-four programs have
been developed in this area of
concern-adaptation of the liturgy to
incorporate black culture and identity,
the recruitment of black candidates for
the priesthood and religious life,
continuing theological and pastoral
education programs to support our
present black priests and religious and
the development of lay leadership
through training and skills transfer
programs.
2) To assist the Church in making an
effective contribution to the needs of
the total black community- this
emphasis is developed through Pastoral
Ministry Institutes for white priests,
religious and laity toward a more
sensitive ministry that relates to the
desires and aspirations of black people,
and in-service programs for School
personnel in the black community.
NOBC will also consult with Catholic
bishops in preparation for the 1974
World Synod on “The Evangelization
of the Modern World.”
3) To assist in the effort to eliminate
any instances of racism within the
Church and the American society. -In
its frequent work with parishes that are
predominantly white, with dioceses and
with national Catholic organizations,
NOBC endeavors to bring about a
sensitivity to the nature and evidence of
racism, and the ways in which it may be
eliminated. The staff has conducted
numerous racial awareness programs
throughout the country.
Each of these areas constitute
on-going programs which NOBC
conducted in over twenty-seven (27)
dioceses, and brought it participation in
international conferences reflecting
similar concerns.
In setting its directions for the future,
the National Office for Black Catholics
will first of all seek to enhance and
intensify its activities in those areas that
clearly remain as priorities. Among
these are vocation recruitment and
maintainance, lay leadership
development and educational services,
with special attention to the religious
education for Black Youth, and pastoral
ministry in the black community.
Secondly the NOBC will expand its
activities in relation to significant social
issues not directly Church-related but
which are concerned with injustice,
oppression and the denial of human
rights. This means joining other
organizations in pressing for the reform
of welfare legislation, the rights of farm
workers, the reinstatement of adequate
housing laws and other social programs.
It also means developing within NOBC
our own capacity to take action where
needed to alleviate urgent social needs.
Efforts toward this objective have
already begun. In cooperation with the
National Catholic Conference for
Inter-racial Justice, NOBC has provided
permanent housing for the Black United
Front in Cairo, Blinois-a community
organization with housing, employment
and educational programs.
Most recently, working with Catholic
Relief Services, NOBC assisted in
generating contributions from the
Catholic Church throughout the
country to relieve the severe famine
which threatens to devastate the people
of six countries bordering the Sahara
Desert in West Africa.
There are many critical social issues
which have a legitimate claim to the
capabilities and resources of the
National Office for Black Catholics.
There is the need to provide competent
legal aid to minority communities, to
support existing child-care programs, to
orient vacant parish and diocesan
facilities to community service.
It is our resolve to develop practical
and tangible programs to meet these
needs.
Worship that is authentically
Adapting
BY BRO. JOSEPH DAVIS
For too many Catholics, attending
Mass has been and continues to be the
fulfillment of an obligation - a duty
imposed by the Church. Because that is
true, for the people who gather at one
of the Sunday Masses at the average
parish, the elements which make for
moving, inspring, challenging worship
simply are not present.
Frankly, participants at the Mass
often give the impression of being
bored. And that is highly unfortunate,
not only from a human standpoint, but
from a theological perspective as well.
We worship for various reasons. Not
the least of these reasons is that man has
always made a place for celebration of
the “Greatness” of life. He has always
felt a need to gather in community, to
act out ritualistically the shared
experiences -- victories and losses, joys
and sadness, peace and conflict which
say who we are and where we have
been.
These are the human elements that
give worship life. The Sacraments were
meant to be human - to reach man
where he is and to inspire him from a
human perspective. And when worship
becomes something to “suffer through”
something is theologically wrong.
For black Catholics this does not
have to be the case. If they are able to
draw on the resources to be found in
the traditional black church, then
worship will be very much alive.
“Soul” to
the repository of some of the richest
elements of Black culture and heritage.
Utilizing it as a guide, black Catholics
can find their way to worship with
“Soul” - worship the way it ought to be.
The concept of “Soul” is difficult to
encase in words. But to understand
better, let us say that “Soul” is the
movement of the Spirit of God, felt by
and involving the whole man. In
worship of the traditional black Church,
it is manifested through total
congregational participation, music that
is alive, the dynamic preaching
tradition, and spontaneous prayer.
The Department of Culture and
Worship of the National Office for
Black Catholics exists as a doorway for
the entry of the rich Afro-American
culture into the worship of the Catholic
Church. It is a specific response to the
exhortation of Pope Paul VI to enrich
the Catholic Church with the gift of
blackness. Stated in the broadest
possible terms, the Department of
Culture and Worship is embarked on a
search - a discovery of what is being
done or what might be done in the area
of black Catholics worship.
W orship
Under the very competent, practical
leadership of Fr. Clarence Rivers, this
search has been translated into programs
on every possible level - parish,
diocesan, regional and national.
It has taken the form of workshops
on liturgy and Afro-American culture,
parochial and diocesan consultation,
concerts, and above all, the quarterly
publication of an award-winning
magazine -- “Freeing the Spirit.” It has
been the arena for developing a closer
working relationship with black
Protestant churches.
NOBC’s Department of Culture and
Worship offers a vitally positive resource
to Black parishes. But in so doing, it
offers a truly necessary resource to the
whole Church. On one level, it is a
means by which bishops, sharing their
authority with black Catholics, could
judge what is authentic in
Afro-American Catholic worship. On a
larger level, there is value for all
Catholics. When “soulful worship” is
recovered by Black Catholics, it is
recovered for the whole Church.
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