Good News Abounds at 22Nd Annual Mother Lange Awards,Sister

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Good news abounds at 22nd annual Mother Lange awards

WOODLAWN – Given that Sister Rita Michelle Proctor would apply enthusiasm to a reading of the nutritional label on a can of soup, imagine the energy the superior general of the Oblate Sisters of Providence brought to all of the good news she shared in her remarks at the 22nd annual Mother Lange awards banquet Feb. 8 at Martin’s West.

Sponsored by the Office of Black Catholic Ministries, the event honors not just contributors to parish life in the Archdiocese of Baltimore, but Mother Lange, who helped found the Oblate Sisters in 1829.

Sister Rita Michelle shared that her order’s week began with a 7:30 a.m. liturgy Feb. 3, during which they welcomed their newest postulant, Delphine Okoro. She has a master’s degree in marriage and family counseling, and dual citizenship in Cameroon and Nigeria.

“God is still calling women to religious life,” said Sister Rita Michelle, who noted that the Oblate Sisters welcomed Okoro on the anniversary of the day Mother Lange died in 1882.

The Mother Lange awards are given for leadership, service and youth ministry, and Sister Rita Michelle also grew effusive when discussing the honorees from the latter category.

“These young people have chosen to be active participants, and not just spectators,” Sister Rita Michelle said.

The Adams twins, Korey and Keon, high school freshmen at the Academy for College and Career Preparation in Hampden, certainly fit that description.

Parishioners of St. Gregory the Great who will receive the sacrament of confirmation March 27, both serve as ushers and in a program that offers meals to those in need. Keon, who previously attended Cardinal Shehan School, hopes to study one of the hard sciences at the University of Maryland in College Park. Korey aims to major in engineering at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania.

David Anoma, one of the youth recipients from St. Bernardine, happens to be headed to Lincoln University in the fall. His service washighlighted by the Review last March.

His parish’s other youth recipient was Symphony Carter, a senior at The Catholic High School of Baltimore, where she’s on the honor roll.

The evening included prayer led by Bishop Denis J. Madden and a selection of Gospel hymns from the St. Francis Xavier Praise Ensemble Choir.

Thirty-eight men, women and children received awards for Leadership (L), Service (S) and Youth (Y). They are listed below, by parish.

St. Ambrose: Reva Stephens, S; Brandon Fields, Y.

St. Ann: Dorothy Horton-Brown, L; Rachel Carrenad, S.

St. Bernardine: Dolores and Alexander Dixon, L; Denise Carol Francis, S; David Anoma and Symphony Carter, Y.

Blessed Sacrament: Wanda Ford, L; Jacqueline Ashun Dadzie, S; Danielle Amaya Nelson, Y.

St. Cecilia: Francis Woodus, L; Lori D. Stone, S; Colin Christopher Scott, Y.

St. Edward: Bessie Butcher, L; Wayne R. Bridges and Patricia Fitzgerald, S; Mylai Harris, Y.

St. Francis Xavier: Sharon Butler, L; Jacquelyn MacArthur Hart, S; Terence DeMello Hare, Y.

St. Gregory the Great: Walter Edward Stokes Jr., L; Tanya Leonard, S; Korey Dominic Adams and Keon Stacey Adams, Y.

Immaculate Conception: Natalie Dugger Fleming, L; Flo Wilkinson Valentine, S. St. Mary of the Assumption: Janelle Baum, L; Wayne R. Bridges, S.

New All Saints: Josef Miller-Henley, L; Carla Jones, S; Niles Hall, Y.

St. Peter Claver/St. Pius V: Daphne Hicks, L; Patricia Ames, S.

St. Wenceslaus: Doris Campbell, L; Patricia Brown, S; Fred Shoats, S.

Email Paul McMullen at [email protected]

Sister parishes in Baltimore, Columbia welcome release of archbishop’s reflection on racism

Archbishop William E. Lori introduced “The Journey to Racial Justice” to several hundred men, women and children who appeared to be part of the solution to the lingering systemic issues addressed in his latest pastoral reflection.

The archbishop’s second reflection on the topic in less than a year was publicly released Jan. 21 at St. Bernardine in West Baltimore. The occasion was the parish’s annual peace walk on Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, named for its late pastor, Monsignor Edward M. Miller.

It included the remembrance of eight who were shot and killed in the surrounding blocks, but the fellowship in Harcum Hall that followed offered hope for a brighter day. Much of that spirit came courtesy of St. Bernardine’s sister parish, St. John the Evangelist in Columbia, a partnership began when the respective pastors, Monsignor Richard Bozzelli and Father Gerald Bowen, got to brainstorming during the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s annual Catholic Campaign for Human Development awards luncheon.

The fruit of their conversation included two busses and four carloads from the Columbia faith community among those who heard Archbishop Lori’s remarks on his new reflection, with his very first recommendation being “Organizing training and resources for conducting forums throughout our institutions to discuss and address the issue of racism.”

Father Bowen said his people are moved in part “by a resurgence of racism and hatred. As a church, we want to make a public stand and witness. We stand with St. Bernardine as they continue the work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.”

Mike Lewis, a retired federal employee and parishioner of St. Bernardine for 13 years, was among those familiar with the visitors,

“We visited St. John’s for Mass last summer,” Lewis said. “The fellowship and camaraderie were a wonderful experience. To have them come here and experience our community, that’s a blessing. It’s more than just a ‘sister parish’ relationship. I hope this is the beginning of us coming together and having a serious discussion.”

In addition to their pastors and Bishop Denis J. Madden, who regularly leads prayer walks in the city, those attending the service included Jesuit Father James Casciotti, pastor of St. Ignatius, and Father Raymond Bomberger, pastor of St. Peter Claver and St. Pius V.

Also in attendance were Skipp Sanders, a parishioner of St. Vincent de Paul who helped draft the reflection; Donna Hargens, archdiocesan superintendent of Catholic Schools; Karmen Collins, principal of Ss. James and John Catholic School; and William J. McCarthy, executive director of Catholic Charities of Baltimore.

Several city councilmen were also in attendance, along with Baltimore City Polic Chief Melvin T. Russell, acting deputy commissioner. They heard strong words from Archbishop Lori.

“Even as we Americans celebrate the inspiring example of Dr. King today, we feel the shame of witnessing public demonstrations of racism, anti-Semitism and intolerance toward newcomers to our country such as we have not seen in decades,” he said. “Likewise, there seems to be no lessening of the institutional racism we see all around us – whether in the criminal justice system, employment, healthcare, education or political enfranchisement.”

Later, he said, “From our very first archbishop, church leaders, clergy and lay persons owned and relied upon the labor of enslaved persons. The fact that most institutions that can trace their past to the beginnings of this country were participants in the evil of slavery is no excuse.”

The program included reflections from Thomas Stewart Davis on Dr. King, and Joseph Oden Jr. on Monsignor Miller, who was pastor of St. Bernardine, 1980-2013. While an earlier pastor had preached segregation from the pulpit, Oden noted Monsignor Miller’s embrace of the faith community as it became predominantly black.

“You knew that we were not here to change the church, father,” Oden said, “but to enhance it.”

The program concluded with the Holy Spirit Prayer and the Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi, a parish custom begun by Monsignor Miller. A Code Blue warning because of the sub-zero wind chill kept inside prayers honoring murder victims, during which Deacon W. Paul Barksdale read their names.

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Archbishop’s new pastoral reflection acknowledges history of slavery and racism

Email Paul McMullen at [email protected] Archbishop’s new pastoral reflection acknowledges history of slavery and racism

Archbishop William E. Lori released Jan. 21 his second pastoral reflection in 12 months on the effects of racism on society. “The Journey to Racial Justice: Repentance, Healing and Action” was released by the archbishop at St. Bernardine Parish in West Baltimore on the day that commemorates the birthday of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

The archbishop’s reflection comes on the heels of the U.S. bishops’ second pastoral letter against racism – “Open Wide Our Hearts: The Enduring Call to Love” – approved in November, and acknowledges the local church’s history of enslavement of persons and other racial inequities.

The reflection also follows another from Archbishop Lori released Feb. 14, 2018, “The Enduring Power of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Principles of Nonviolence.”

In his new pastoral reflection, the archbishop noted the recurrence of racial and ethnic violence and hatred in ways that have not been seen in decades.

“Whether racism manifests itself in these blatant offenses against the dignity and humanity of people of color, or more subtly in the systemic racial inequities that persist in our current society – in the criminal justice system, in employment, education, housing, healthcare and political enfranchisement – the national conversation confirms that there is still a great deal of work to be done,” Archbishop Lori said.

His pastoral acknowledges that churches and members of the clergy, including four archbishops of Baltimore, held enslaved persons.

“Records show that lay members, religious communities and individual clergy held enslaved persons and that the church benefited from their labor not only in general parish work – the maintenance of churches, residences, convents, cemeteries, and so on – but also from the profit of their labor on plantations and farms owned by church entities,” the archbishop wrote.

The pastoral notes that even after the end of slavery, “the Church continued to fall short of its professed adherence to the teachings of Jesus Christ. Catholic schools, religious education classes, lay associations, and social services, including hospitals and orphanages, were segregated.”

Skipp Sanders, former executive director of the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African-American History and Culture and a parishioner of St. Vincent de Paul in Baltimore, assisted the archdiocese with the drafting of the pastoral.

“I think that by and large people in our country don’t have an accurate understanding of African-American history and the history of this country, therefore, since we’re integrally a part of it,” he said. “It’s part of the corrective that needs to be given and especially, in light of what’s going on in current times, where in a sense the social fabric of the country is even being stretched to the tearing point.”

Sanders added, “Maybe for the first time in this corrective, we’re seeing people admit the role that all the major institutions in the country have played in assisting racism to persist. It may not have always been intentional; often it was. … That’s a great admission when people are able to really begin to see that and admit that. And for the church to do it, because the church was involved too, I think is a big step forward.”

In an interview before the release of the pastoral, Archbishop Lori said grappling with the sins of racism in the church’s past opens up “the possibility of moving ahead in a healthier and more just manner – in a manner that is profoundly in accord with the Gospel.”

The pastoral notes that the church cannot become complacent in its efforts to fight racial injustice. “Have we lapsed, like our society at large, into a situation of de facto segregation? If we can still easily identify the ‘black’ and ‘white’ parishes of our archdiocese, have we truly accomplished the goal of racial equity we claim to embrace?” the document asks. The pastoral reflection includes concrete steps to be taken by the archdiocese, including: organizing training and resources to discuss and address the issue of racism; examining the diversity of archdiocesan institutions, parishes, schools and social service programs, and enhancing efforts to further diversify where needed; and strengthening existing efforts to attract new members of the church and candidates for priesthood and religious life from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds.

Archbishop Lori told the Review the action steps will help the archdiocese respond more intentionally in archdiocesan, parish and local ministries, “as well as ways in which we must advocate more courageously in the culture at large.”

Sanders said he appreciates the archbishop’s candor in writing the pastoral reflection, noting that it reminds him of the caliber of Cardinal Lawrence J. Shehan, who was archbishop of Baltimore, 1961-74.

“He (Archbishop Lori) is stepping forward and stepping out. I’m not sure that everything he says will be easily palatable to maybe some Catholics. But the fact that he’s doing it and he’s taking this leadership position, I really commend,” Sanders said.

Danielle Brown, associate director to the USCCB Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism, said she would have “nothing but praise for local anti-racism statements.”

“The Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism, in keeping with the message of the pastoral letter, ‘Open Wide Our Hearts,’ would likely encourage bishops to take up the same type of initiative as Archbishop Lori has in the issuing of this new statement,” Brown said.

She noted that it could also be very helpful if bishops were able to identify people with a heart for this work at the diocesan level to lead efforts against racism as he has.

“Still, the faithful must understand that this anti-racism work will not succeed without their individual efforts and their being lit up by the fire of justice,” Brown said.

“The lay faithful should be encouraged and called on by any affirmation of their local bishops in their anti-racism efforts, particularly in Baltimore, where things have been racial volatile, but they do not have to wait to be agents of racial healing,” she said. “No individual effort is too small for God to work through in big ways.”

For the full text of the pastoral reflection, visit bitly.com/racismpastoral19

‘Resilient faith:’ Josephites celebrate 125 years of ministry

Inside a luminous cathedral where many of their ancestors historically attended Mass segregated in a rear balcony, hundreds of African-American Catholics from across the country filled every pew of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Baltimore Nov. 17.

Joining men and women from many different backgrounds, they gathered to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the founding of the Josephites, a society of priests and brothers established in Baltimore to minister to the African-American community.

It was a jubilant celebration not only of the dedicated ministry of the Josephites, but also of the people they have served for more than a century.

“Today, we come to celebrate resilient faith,” said Josephite Superior General Father Michael Thompson in a 30-minute homily that inspired applause and a few shouts of “Amen!” and “Tell it!” The mission of the Josephites, formally known as the Society of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart, was never easy, Father Thompson said.

After the Civil War, he said, the Catholic Church struggled caring for the spiritual needs of some seven million persons of African descent, many of them former slaves.

“They were faithful to their God, yet poor, uneducated and suppressed by evil and cruel treatment,” Father Thompson said.

At the request of U.S. bishops in 1871, Pope Pius IX asked Father Herbert Vaughn (a future cardinal) to send missionary priests from the Mill Hill Fathers in England to minister to black Americans. The Josephites separated from the Mill Hill Fathers in 1893 to form their own society.

Although they lacked manpower and resources, Father Thompson said, the Josephites remained committed to their mission. They received support from St. Katharine Drexel, a wealthy Philadelphia heiress and founder of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, who spent much of her fortune to purchase land for Josephites to build churches and schools.

Many other women’s religious communities, including the Baltimore-based Oblate Sisters of Providence, also helped in the Josephite mission, he said.

Father Charles Uncles, a former parishioner of St. Francis Xavier in Baltimore, was among the four founding Josephites. He became the first African American ordained to the priesthood on American soil when Baltimore Cardinal James Gibbons administered the sacrament of holy orders in 1891 at the Baltimore Basilica, an event that attracted national attention and coverage from the New York Times.

“It was something unfathomable,” Father Thompson said, noting that many blacks came to witness the historic ordination. “They came with excitement because if we can ordain one, they knew there would be many to follow.”

In welcoming guests to the anniversary celebration, Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori said he considered himself an honorary Josephite. When he was a deacon and a young priest, he served at Josephite parishes in the Archdiocese of Washington. The archbishop said Cardinal Gibbons, who welcomed the founding of the Josephites, and Father John Slattery, the first superior general of the Josephites, and the four founding members of the Josephites are “surely with us tonight in a spirit of gratitude, praise and thanksgiving as we give thanks for the Josephites’ work of evangelization for 125 years.”

“Please know that your enthusiastic presence brings great joy to this basilica and to the whole church,” Archbishop Lori said.

Bishops concelebrating the Mass with Archbishop Lori were Bishop John Ricard, rector of St. Joseph’s Seminary in Washington, D.C. and a former auxiliary bishop of Baltimore; Bishop Denis J. Madden, urban vicar for the Archdiocese of Baltimore; and Bishop Roy Campbell Jr., auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Washington.

During the liturgy, which took place during National Black Catholic History Month, a Gospel choir made up of parishioners from a variety of Josephite parishes led the congregation in song. More than 200 members of the Knights and Ladies of Peter Claver were also present for the celebration, including an honor guard.

During a banquet at the Baltimore Convention Center following the Mass, James Ellis, Supreme Knight of the Knights of Peter Claver, announced that in honor of the Josephites’ anniversary, the Knights plan to sponsor a scholarship for Josephite seminarians. The Knights were founded by the Josephites more than a century ago in Alabama to provide a Catholic fraternity for black men who were denied admittance to others.

For much of their history, the Josephites have been known for their commitment to social justice. They participated in the Civil Rights struggle and encouraged black Catholics to take leadership roles in the church.

St. Augustine High School in New Orleans, founded by the Josephites, won a legal battle in 1967 that led to the desegregation of Louisiana high school sports. Following the unrest in Baltimore after Freddie Gray died from injuries sustained while in police custody in 2015, the Josephite parish of St. Peter Claver became the epicenter for a cleanup effort in the days following the riots. Bishop Ricard, the first African-American bishop in the Archdiocese of Baltimore and the retired bishop of the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee, Fla., told the Catholic Review he was inspired to become a Josephite priest while growing up in the Jim Crow South.

“I saw these as unselfish men who served the African-American community, often at the risk of ostracizing themselves from other priests and other Catholics,” said Bishop Ricard, raised in Louisiana. “They lived in the same community we lived, and they shared our values, our aspirations, our dreams and were very supportive of what we were trying to do.”

The Josephites have worked to encourage religious vocations from the African- American community to ensure that “everybody receives God’s care and love,” Bishop Ricard said.

St. Joseph’s Seminary, where Bishop Ricard now serves, was originally located in Baltimore and was the first seminary in the country to educate both black and white candidates to the priesthood. After the restoration of the permanent diaconate following the Second Vatican Council, the Josephites were also at the forefront in educating new deacons.

Since the 1990s, the Josephites have been reaching out to Africa to encourage Africans to consider ministry in the United States with the Society of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart. The Josephites now run a house of formation in Iperu-Remo, Nigeria.

“In the last 20 years, we’ve averaged about two priests ordained from Africa per year,” said Bishop Ricard, noting that most are from Nigeria. “They serve in Josephite parishes and are very well received.”

Florence Calloway, a parishioner of St. Joseph in Alexandria, Va., said the Josephites have been a part of her life throughout her 78 years.

“They have always been for the betterment of our children,” she said, “and they encouraged us to have pride in our faith, in our church and in our community.”

Debra Tidwell, a parishioner of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Washington, said the Josephites truly love the people they serve.

“They really have devoted their lives to making our lives better,” she said, “and that says a lot.”

Listen to the Gospel choir sing at the anniversary Mass below:

Email George Matysek at [email protected]

Archbishop Lori says pastoral on racism ‘most welcome’ in Archdiocese of Baltimore

After almost four years of discussion, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops overwhelmingly approved a pastoral letter against racism Nov. 14 at its meeting in Baltimore.

“Open Wide Our Hearts: The Enduring Call to Love – A Pastoral Letter Against Racism,” calls racist acts sinful because they violate justice.

Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori, who served as a consultant to the committee drafting the pastoral, said the pastoral is “most welcome” in the archdiocese. He said the archdiocese is putting together a dialogue process for which the pastoral will be a great help.

He hopes that priests and bishops in the archdiocese will preach and teach about the pastoral and quote it widely, as well as having it inform the work of those at the archdiocesan level.

The last time the bishops as a body issued a pastoral about racism was in 1979. Although individual bishops have issued pastoral reflections about racial issues since then – including a reflection on the 50th anniversary of the death of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. issued in February 2017 by Archbishop Lori – there has been progress in some areas but regression in other areas, according to Bishop Shelton J. Fabre of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux, La., who chaired the bishops’ Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism as it completed the amendments on “Open Wide Our Hearts.”

Unfortunately, “racism has the ability to adapt with the times,” he said. In the past, the bishops addressed the evils of personal racism. In the late 1970s, racism was almost always seen in terms of a black-white issue.

“Racism is no longer just a black-white issue now with many, many ethnicities and races that are part of the United States and part of the church in the United States. We see it even raising its ugly head with regard to other cultural families,” Bishop Fabre said in an interview with the Catholic Review during the bishops’ meeting.

The chairman said one of the highlights of the new pastoral is that the bishops now recognize racism as a life issue. He said it is not equated with abortion, which is chief among the life issues.

“Racism is a life issue because it really attacks the human dignity of a person. It is an invitation on the part of each and every person to really do some reflecting: How is it that I might not be respecting someone’s human dignity? And if I am not respecting that, why am I not respecting that?” Bishop Fabre said.

He said the bishops know that the document alone will not end racism, but his committee has been tasked with implementing it, so there are accompanying lesson plans for kindergarten through 12th grade for use in Catholic schools and religious education programs. He hopes bishops and priests will preach about racism and encourage conversations about it.

“It is my hope that (people) would know this is going to be a constructive dialogue, and it’s a place that they can trust that they will be heard and they’ll be able to share their own stories,” Bishop Fabre said. The bishops also voted Nov. 14 to affirm the work that the Diocese of Jackson, Miss., has begun to advance on the local level the cause for canonization of Sister Thea Bowman, F.S.P.A. Sister Bowman, a popular speaker, evangelist and activist for African-American Catholics, died in 1990 at age 52.

Archbishop Lori recalled that while he worked in Washington in the 1980s, he met Sister Bowman at a meeting with Cardinal James Hickey, for whom then-Father Lori was secretary. “I was privileged to meet her, and I believe she was already suffering from cancer at that time.”

He said he was impressed “by how spirited she was and how Spirit-filled she was.”

Bishops overwhelmingly approve pastoral against racism

BALTIMORE — The U.S. bishops overwhelmingly approved a pastoral letter against racism Nov. 14 during their fall general meeting at Baltimore.

The document, “Open Wide Our Hearts: The Enduring Call to Love — A Pastoral Letter Against Racism,” passed 241-3 with one abstention. It required a two-thirds vote by all bishops, or 183 votes, for passage.

“Despite many promising strides made in our country, racism still infects our nation,” the pastoral letter says. “Racist acts are sinful because they violate justice. They reveal a failure to acknowledge the human dignity of the persons offended, to recognize them as the neighbors Christ calls us to love,” it adds.

Bishops speaking on the pastoral gave clear consent to the letter’s message. “This statement is very important and very timely,” said Bishop John E. Stowe of Lexington, Kentucky. He appreciated that the letter took note of the racism suffered by African-Americans and Native Americans, “two pieces of our national history that we have not reconciled.”

“This will be a great, fruitful document for discussion,” said Bishop Barry C. Knestout of Richmond, Virginia, in whose diocese the violence-laden “Unite the Right” rally was held last year. Bishop Knestout added the diocese has already conducted listening sessions on racism.

Bishop Robert J. Baker of Birmingham, Alabama, what he called “ground zero for the civil rights movement,” said the pastoral’s message is needed, as the civil rights movement “began 60 years ago and we’re still working on achieving the goals in this document.”

Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann of Kansas City, Kansas, said he was grateful for the pastoral’s declaration that “an attack against the dignity of the human person is an attack the dignity of life itself.”

Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted of Phoenix said the letter will be welcome among Native Americans, who populate 11 missions in the diocese, African-Americans in Arizona — “I think we were the last of the 50 states to be part of the Martin Luther King Jr. national holiday,” he noted — and Hispanics, who make up 80 percent of all diocesan Catholics under age 20.

“This is very important for our people and our youth to know the history of racism,” he added.

Bishop Shelton T. Fabre of Houma-Thibodaux, Louisiana, chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism, said an electronic copy of “Open Wide Our Hearts” would be posted “somewhat immediately,” with a print version available around Thanksgiving.

“Also, there will be resources available immediately” now that the pastoral letter has been approved, including Catholic school resources for kindergarten through 12th grade, added the bishop, who also is chair of the bishops’ Subcommittee on African American Affairs.

“‘Open Wide Our Hearts’ conveys the bishops’ grave concern about the rise of racist attitudes in society,” Bishop Fabre said Nov. 13, when the pastoral was put on the floor of the bishops’ meeting. It also “offers practical suggestions for individuals, families and communities,” he said.

“Every racist act — every such comment, every joke, every disparaging look as a reaction to the color of skin, ethnicity or place of origin — is a failure to acknowledge another person as a brother or sister, created in the image of God,” it adds.

“Racial profiling frequently targets Hispanics for selective immigration enforcement practices, and African-Americans, for suspected criminal activity. There is also the growing fear and harassment of persons from majority Muslim countries. Extreme nationalist ideologies are feeding the American public discourse with xenophobic rhetoric that instigates fear against foreigners, immigrants and refugees.”

“Personal sin is freely chosen,” a notion that would seem to include racism, said retired Bishop Ricardo Ramirez of Las Cruces, New Mexico, Nov. 13, but “social sin is collective blindness. There is sin as deed and sin as illness. It’s a pervasive illness that runs through a culture.” Bishop Fabre responded that the proposed letter refers to institutional and structural racism.

An amendment from Bishop Ramirez to include this language in the pastoral was accepted by the bishops’ Committee on Cultural Diversity in the Church, which guided the document’s preparation.

Bishop Curtis J. Guillory of Beaumont, Texas, said Nov. 13 the pastoral “gives us a wonderful opportunity to educate, to convert,” adding that, given recent incidents, the document should give “consideration to our Jewish brothers and sisters.” Bishop Fabre replied that while anti-Semitism is mentioned in the document, future materials will focus on anti-Semitism.

A proposed amendment to the pastoral to include the Confederate battle flag in the pastoral alongside nooses and swastikas as symbols of hatred was rejected by the committee.

“Nooses and swastikas are widely recognized signs of hatred, the committee commented, but “while for many the Confederate flag is also a sign of hatred and segregation, some still claim it as a sign of heritage.”

Bishops give go-ahead to diocese’s Sister Thea Bowman sainthood effort

BALTIMORE — The U.S. bishops gave their assent to the canonization effort launched for Sister Thea Bowman by the Diocese of Jackson, Mississippi.

The assent, on a voice vote, came Nov. 14, the third day of their fall general meeting in Baltimore. The “canonical consultation” with the body of U.S. bishops is a step in the Catholic Church’s process toward declaring a person a saint.

Sister Bowman, a Mississippi native and the only African-American member of her order, the Wisconsin-based Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration, was a widely known speaker, evangelizer and singer until she died of cancer in 1990 at age 52. She even made a presentation at the U.S. bishops’ spring meeting in 1989, moving some prelates to tears.

“The faithful in, and well beyond, the Diocese of Jackson,” have asked for her canonization process to begin, said Bishop Joseph R. Kopacz of Jackson, who became bishop of the diocese in 2014. “Even well before I arrived in Jackson, the requests were coming in.” Sister Bowman, Bishop Kopacz said, was “an ambassador of Jesus Christ and an apostle of reconciliation,” adding she was “singing, teaching and inspiring until the very end.”

He noted that “the church embraced Sister Thea from her early years, but there were times when she felt like a motherless child.” It never deterred her, though, Bishop Kopacz said. “We pray that Sister Thea’s voice will be a beacon of hope” to victims of clergy sexual abuse.

Bishop Kopacz liberally sprinkled his remarks with quotes from Sister Bowman.

“We unite ourselves with Christ’s redemptive work when we make peace, when we share the good news of God within our hearts,” she once said. “We celebrate the presence and proclamation of the word made flesh. It is never an escape from reality,” she also said.

At another point, Sister Bowman told her audience, “Go! There is a song that will never be sung unless you sing it. … Go tell the world, go preach the Gospel, go tell the good news.”

Sister Bowman was a trailblazer in almost every role: first African-American religious sister from Canton, Mississippi; the first to head an office of intercultural awareness; and the first African-American woman to address the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Sister Bowman led the Jackson Diocese’s Office of Intercultural Awareness, taught at several Catholic high schools and colleges, and was a faculty member of the Institute of Black Catholic Studies at Xavier University in New Orleans.

She took her message across the nation, speaking at church gatherings and conventions, making 100 speaking engagements a year, but spreading cancer slowed her. Music was especially important to her. She would gather or bring a choir with her and often burst into song during her presentations.

In addition to her writings, her music also resulted in two recordings, “Sister Thea: Songs of My People” and “Round the Glory Manger: Christmas Songs and Spirituals.” When Sister Bowman spoke at the U.S. bishops’ meeting in June 1989, less than a year before her death from bone cancer and confined to a wheelchair, she was blunt. She told the bishops that people had told her black expressions of music and worship were “un-Catholic.”

Sister Bowman disputed that notion, pointing out that the church universal included people of all races and cultures and she challenged the bishops to find ways to consult those of other cultures when making decisions. She told them they were obligated to better understand and integrate not just black Catholics, but people of all cultural backgrounds.

Catholic News Service reported that her remarks “brought tears to the eyes of many bishops and observers.” She also sang to them and, at the end, had them all link hands and join her in singing “We Shall Overcome.”

Boston Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley, who served as bishop of the Diocese of St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands from 1985 to 1992, said Nov. 14 that Catholics in his former diocese “really revere Sister Thea and I’m really glad to see this coming to fruition.”

By the mid-1990s, Catholic schools in Gary, Indiana, East St. Louis, Illinois, and Port Arthur, Texas, opened bearing Sister Bowman’s name.

She also was the focus of books, including 1993’s “Thea Bowman: Shooting Star — Selected Writings and Speeches,” 2008’s “This Little Light: Lessons in Living From Sister Thea Bowman,” and 2010’s “Thea’s Song: The Life of Thea Bowman.”

Redemptorist Father Maurice Nutt, observing the 20th anniversary of Sister Bowman’s death in 2010, said he believes the late nun is a saint. Though not officially canonized, “Sister Thea is canonized in the hearts of all who knew and loved her,” he said.

BALTIMORE — The U.S. bishops took the first steps toward approving a pastoral letter against racism with the document’s introduction Nov. 13 during their annual fall general meeting.

The proposed pastoral letter, “The Enduring Call to Love: A Pastoral Letter Against Racism,” has been in the works for four years, although its issuance was put on the front burner following the September 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller of San Antonio, chair of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Cultural Diversity in the Church, said all standing committees of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops collaborated on the document.

“Open Wide our Hearts’ conveys the bishops’ grave concern about the rise of racist attitudes in society,” said Bishop Sheldon T. Fabre of Houma-Thibodaux, Louisiana, chairman of the USCCB Subcommittee on African American Affairs. He also chairs the Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism.

It also “offers practical suggestions for individuals, families and communities,” Bishop Fabre said.

“Despite many promising strides made in our country, the ugly cancer of racism still infects our nation,” the proposed pastoral says. “Racist acts are sinful because they violate justice. They reveal a failure to acknowledge the human dignity of the persons offended, to recognize them as the neighbors Christ calls us to love,” it adds.

“Racial profiling frequently targets Hispanics for selective immigration enforcement practices and African-Americans for suspected criminal activity. There is also the growing fear and harassment of persons from majority-Muslim countries. Extreme nationalist ideologies are feeding the American public discourse with xenophobic rhetoric that instigates fear against foreigners, immigrants and refugees.”

“Personal sin is freely chosen,” a notion that would seem to include racism, said retired Bishop Ricardo Ramirez of Las Cruces, New Mexico, but “social sin is collective blindness. There is sin as deed and sin as illness. It’s a pervasive illness that runs through a culture.” Bishop Fabre responded that the proposed letter refers to institutional and structural racism.

Bishop Curtis J. Guillory of Beaumont, Texas, said the proposed pastoral “gives us a wonderful opportunity to educate, to convert,” adding that, given recent incidents, the document should give “consideration to our Jewish brothers and sisters.” Bishop Fabre said that while anti-Semitism is mentioned in the document, future materials will focus on anti-Semitism.

The rollout of the proposed pastoral was the chief concern of Bishop Christopher J. Coyne of Burlington, Vermont. “We do this great work,” he said, and it should be shaped to fit “multiple formats,” including short videos, digital media, religious education and adult education. Although “we’re getting better at it,” he added, all too often “we do these documents, and they sit on a shelf.”

Bishop Fabre allayed his concerns. “We do have lesson plans ready to go, from kindergarten to high school,” he said, “ready, just waiting for the pastoral letter to be approved.”

A vote to approve the document was scheduled for Nov. 14, the last day of the public sessions of the bishops’ meeting.

The proposed new Catholic elementary school in Baltimore City will honor the name of Mother Mary Elizabeth Lange, the foundress of both the Oblate Sisters of Providence, the first religious community of women of African descent, and the first Catholic school in the United States for black children.

The announcement of the selection of “Mother Mary Lange Catholic School” was made by Archbishop William E. Lori Sept. 4, the first day of the 2018-19 school year in the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

In April, he announced plans for the first new K-8 school in the city in nearly six decades. With plans to open in downtown Baltimore in 2020, its students will include those currently attending Holy Angels Catholic School, on the campus of the former Seton Keough High School in Southwest Baltimore, and Ss. James and John Catholic School, in the Johnston Square neighborhood.

The new school will honor a woman being considered for canonization, one who was born in 1784 in the Caribbean, emigrated to Baltimore and opened, in her home in East Baltimore, a school for black children, what would become St. Frances Academy.

“The Oblate Sisters of Providence considers it a great honor and tribute to have this new city Catholic School named in honor of Mother Mary Lange,” said Sister Rita Michelle Proctor, superior general of the order founded by Mother Lange, in a news release from the archdiocese. “She herself valued Catholic education as she established the first Catholic school for ‘children of color’ in 1828, St. Frances Academy, which still exists today.”

The new school will be built on a tract of city-owned land along Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, between Lexington and Saratoga Streets. According to the news release, the final $2 million of a goal of $18.6 million must be raised before construction begins.

It will not be the first school in the archdiocese to bear her name, as the consolidation of the parish schools at St. Dominic, Shrine of the Little Flower and St. Anthony of Padua, on the campus of the latter, opened in 2005 as Mother Mary Lange Catholic School. It closed in 2010.

Dr. Camille Brown, associate superintendent of schools, and Monsignor Richard J. Bozzelli, pastor of St. Bernardine, led a consultation on the matter of naming the new school, which included a petition with 359 signatures promoting the name of Mother Lange that was forwarded to Archbishop Lori.

“One can’t tell the history of the Catholic school system in this country without mentioning Mother Mary Lange,” Archbishop Lori said. “She was a visionary woman of deep faith and recognized the life-changing role of education in the lives of children, most especially those living on society’s margins.

“Please God, Mother Lange’s name on our new school will be a beacon that shines brightly for the children of Baltimore and a reminder to all that every child of God deserves a good education and the hope and opportunity that comes with it.”

The Vatican is reviewing Mother Lange’s cause for canonization, which requires confirmation of two miracles attributed to her intercession.

St. Bernardine parishioner offers comfort with meals As a child, Jo Ann Thomas watched her grandmother cook for the retired Josephite priests and brothers in residence at St. Joseph’s Manor in Roland Park.

Those memories of growing up around the Josephites (her mother served them as a nurse) surround Thomas when she cooks with commercial-sized pots and pans in the kitchen of her parish, St. Bernardine in West Baltimore.

Thomas is the leader of the Comfort Food Ministry, which provides meals for repasts after parish funerals. For up to 100 attendees, the parish provides a home-cooked meal at no cost. The faith community also tries to send families home with meals for the seven days following funerals.

“We ask for a love donation, or a donation if you are able,” Thomas said. “And if you are not able, it’s no different if you’re a millionaire or a person who doesn’t have two nickels to rub together. You’re treated the same – with dignity and respect.”

Thomas has been a member of the Comfort Food Ministry since 2000, identifying closely with those she serves. She draws on the experience of losing her mother and father just four months apart.

“When I started doing it, I remembered how I felt,” Thomas said. “It is such a good feeling to be able to relate to these people, go to them and say, ‘Do you need anything?’”

When she asks if families need anything, she said, they inevitably say no. She brings them something, anyway. “We make people feel comfortable,” she said. “Not just with food, but with whatever we need to do on that day.”

Even a compliment on a grieving person’s dress or family can be just enough to make a difference.

Though she leads the Comfort Food Ministry, she did not begin with that intention. “You come to serve,” said Thomas, who recently took over leadership of the ministry after the former leader retired following many years of dedicated service. “If you come in with a mentality that you’re in it for some type of self- gratification, or to run things or give people unsolicited advice, it won’t work.” St. Bernardine’s pastor, Monsignor Richard Bozzelli, said Thomas is not only maintaining the ministry, but is honing its excellence.

That includes a standardized menu that Thomas created – rotisserie chickens (bought cooked from Sam’s Club), mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, string beans, corn and gravy. During the winter, she makes well-loved additions – dressing and sweet potatoes.

“Butter is so comforting,” Thomas said. “Butter, cream, mashed potatoes with some nice flavorful gravy – that’s so comforting.”

The Comfort Food team focuses on details such as cutting the rotisserie chicken, separating the light meat from dark and de-boning everything but the drumsticks and wings.

“Some people would think ‘Why do you even bother with all of that?’” Thomas said. “Because we’re trying to make people feel good.”

Those actions might seem small, she said, but they are helpful to those grieving.

Monsignor Bozzelli called Thomas an “ideal parishioner.”

“If there’s a need, she just says, ‘How can I help?’” he said, adding that she is also responsible and thorough in her work. “You only need five people like that and you can run a parish.”

Monsignor Bozzelli meets with the family to determine if there are any special requests and relays the information to Thomas, who usually has about a week to prepare. The parish of approximately 950 registered households has about 40 funerals a year, according to Monsignor Bozzelli.

Since April, Monsignor Bozzelli said there has been a funeral approximately every 10 days.

As the owner of her own business, American Dream Real Estate Services, Thomas able to be flexible in her ministries at St. Bernardine.

“I like to house people with difficult situations,” Thomas said, speaking of homelessness and poor credit situations. “People have poor credit for reasons, but big organizations don’t care about those reasons. … I do.”

Thomas said she works with people to determine the cause of their problems, which may include the loss of a job, or a medical issue in the family.

“People have real issues, so we’re a second-chance company,” she said. “We will find you a place to live.”

Thomas is also a member of St. Bernardine’s women’s ministry, and is regent for the parish’s court of Catholic Daughters of the Americas. Her 17-year-old son, David Anoma, is active in the parish and is employed there for the summer.

Thomas is a recipient of a Mother Lange Award, presented in February by the archdiocesan Office of Black Catholic Ministries in recognition of her service.

Her lifestyle allows St. Bernardine to be the center of her life. She said she is grateful for the community and her volunteer corps of approximately 40 people, who come when they can. They work with the Hospitality Ministry, which helps to set up and serve the food that the Comfort Food Ministry prepares.

“I want them to feel good when they come because I want them to come back,” she said of the volunteers. “I want them to share the feeling that I get from it – and they do.”

Email Emily Rosenthal at [email protected]