A Call to Prayer and Action

The following is a statement from the National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus which I received through my parish's listserv. Please consider the message carefully and prayerfully. 

Statement from the National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus

July 11, 2016 Feast Day of St. Benedict

Brothers and Sisters to Us,

May the grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ find you blessed and lifted in the Holy Spirit.

We, the National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus, USA, write to you with burdened hearts in the hope that we find people of good will to be an encouragement for the work that the people of God must undertake. We are living in troubled times. The racial turmoil all around us, no matter what region of the country we live in is the legacy of our country’s original sin, that of racism within our minds and hearts, which is an inner emotional dysfunction that produces dysfunctional behavior between all the races. We are a country which is thinking, feeling and acting under the influence of the stinking thinking of racism.

The recent events that have taken place in Baton Rouge, Minneapolis and Dallas show that we still have a long way to go to free ourselves from racism’s chains. As Black Catholic priests, deacons and religious brothers in the United States we appeal to our Catholic Church and our American society to witness to our Christian creed and civic belief that every person is created equal before God. End the silence of where you stand on this basic tenet of religious faith and civic covenant. Stand in the breach and be counted. In the words of the first epistle of the Church written by St. James: “Be doers of the word, not hearers only.”

The National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus is committed to be witnesses to the truth of being Black in America and in the Catholic Church. We pray and will work to encourage men, women, boys and girls of good will to stand in solidarity with us. Together may we be a light of hope that chases the darkness of racisms from our hearts of our Church and our American society.  We also pray for all the victims of these most recent acts of violence. May God welcome them into the eternal Kingdom and bring comfort and consolation to their families and loved ones.

The Rev. Kenneth Taylor, President, National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus, USA

The Rev. Clarence Williams, CPPS, PhD, Vice-President

STATEMENT BY THE NATIONAL BLACK CATHOLIC CONGRESS

A Call to Prayer and Action

Baltimore, 13 July 2016: The National Black Catholic Congress (NBCC) joins the nation in mourning over the tragedies in Baton Rouge, the Minneapolis-Saint Paul area, and Dallas last week. As we commend to the Lord those who have died, we pray for the consolation of all who are grieving. It is important for Black Catholics to contribute to the ongoing national conversation about the underlying issues which have existed for too long. These issues include racism, inequality, poverty, and violence. During this Jubilee Year of Mercy, we must be signs of God’s love which promotes justice. Justice promotes right relationships, which includes upholding the dignity of human life. The NBCC invites Black Catholics and all people of good will to join in a time of prayer and action. We believe in the power of prayer. We also believe that we must cooperate with how God will answer our prayers.

HENCE, THE NBCC ASKS YOU TO JOIN US IN OFFERING THIS PRAYER FROM MONDAY, JULY 18TH TO MONDAY, THROUGH AUGUST 15TH:

 

O God, who gave one origin to all peoples and willed to gather from them one family for yourself, fill all hearts, we pray, with the fire of your love and kindle in them a desire for the just advancement of their neighbor, that, through the good things which you richly bestow upon all, each human person may be brought to perfection, every division may be removed, and equity and justice may be established in human society.  Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. 

(Collect, Votive Mass for the Progress of Peoples, The Roman Missal)

In addition, Friday is a day of penance for Catholics throughout the year. During this same period, we invite Black Catholics to make a sacrifice of your choosing on Fridays to accompany our prayers for justice with acts of reparation.

National Black Catholic Congress, Inc. July 13, 2016