By Ralph E. Moore Jr.
Special to the AFRO
The recent closings of dozens of Catholic Churches in the Archdiocese of Baltimore for no good reason gives me tremendous pause…And so, after 72 years of being a Roman Catholic, a Black Catholic, it occurs to me that the Church will never be better, despite their constant talk of “hope” and “patience.”
The truth is, church officials are never going to get on the right side of Theology.
The Catholic Church will never ordain women. It has a long, deep, unchanging history of racial prejudice and discrimination and remains openly hostile to gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, transgender and identity questioning folks. So, what are the values of the Church to be proud of?
Is it the horrific fact that the public routinely associates our denomination with the perpetration or enabling of sexual abuse? Is it the professed “preferential option for the poor?” (Catholic officials seem to prefer to do charity rather than advocate and work for social change).
Is it the rampant sexism? Nuns or sisters are not considered clergy in the Catholic Church– only men are clergy. Also, seven sacraments are available to men only, while women can only receive six? (There is no sacrament of Holy Orders or ordinations for the female half of the Catholic Church.) Officials’ gross mistreatment of women is not from God, but from morally weak men –literally.
The Catholic Church in America is very far removed from 21st Century thinking. Officials complain of a priest shortage, but refuse to have women or married persons as priests (celibacy should be an option– not a requirement). The Catholic Church leaders in Baltimore take no responsibility for shrinking congregations in the churches. They do nothing to help the congregations evangelize (or spread the faith) despite paid staff at the Catholic Center paid to do so. At St. Ann Church in my 30 years of membership, I understand we’ve never heard much (if at all) from any of the three Archdiocesan Emmaus Teams. They are supposed to work with parishes to help them “cultivate a culture of discipleship (or renewal). And yet, the “Seek the City to Come Initiative” is closing down churches due to small congregation numbers, while the archdiocese did nothing to help those congregations grow. The ability of Catholic Church leaders to live with their contradictions is astonishing to me! On race, gender, poverty, etc. the Catholic Church leadership is on the wrong side of Theology.
Therefore, what is there to hang one’s hat on? One can love God, the Lord Jesus and the Blessed Mother, Mary, without the Catholic organized system of beliefs and practices. The Catholic Church is not going to get any better– especially when it comes to inclusion.
Our Social Justice Committee of St. Ann Church has led a worldwide initiative for the expedited canonizations of the first six African-American saints from the United States of America. We have collected and forwarded to Pope Francis at least 4,500 signed letters urging him to go to God to give us our saints now. He has never acknowledged or responded to us in three years of letter writing. Our Social Justice subcommittee (Delores Moore, Mary Sewell and I) went to the Vatican in Rome last year to advocate in person with the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints. That congregation vets candidates for sainthood and recommends them to the Pope. We have never heard anything from either of them.
Mother Mary Lange, Father Augustus Tolton, Mr. Pierre Toussaint, Mother Henriette DeLille, Julia Greeley and Sister Thea Bowman are all good and decent persons, who suffered through race hatred from fellow Catholics and yet kept the faith.
Being Black and Catholic is one measure to deal with that tries one’s faith. Catholicism based in and influenced by White supremacy does not come from God, sadly it comes from sinful human beings, who have ignored the Gospels. Those of us born Black in America were, obliviously, African American before we became Catholic by virtue of Baptism. We have rights.
Baltimore church authorities have told us not to speak to the media, as if they can freely remove our first amendment rights. We ignored them. They are now telling us where to go to church as if we are pieces on a chess board. They hold no regard for our church homes. They can also evict us at will (for no reasons, perhaps violating Roman Catholic Canon Law—Canon 1222).
Our St. Ann Church in East Baltimore closed Dec. 1, 2024, despite the quantity of dollars in our financial account, the upgraded conditions of our church and rectory buildings and our well-known advocacy for the canonizations of Black American saints.
And so, it is time to say goodbye to Catholicism.
Too many Catholics are strong Donald Trump voters and supporters. Too many church leaders practice silence and secrecy and clearly care more about finances than faith. There is more concern for the size of congregations than the depth and commitment of Black Catholics who have stayed in churches, while White Catholics fled to the suburbs, fleeing in search of freedom from the racial integration ordered by the Supreme Court’s 1954 Brown vs. Board decision.
Today, I say goodbye to Catholicism.
I remain a believer in God, I love the Lord Jesus and I love his Blessed Mother, Mary. However, I know the Catholic Church will never get any better. Their values –or lack thereof– are actually not consistent with mine. And so I leave them, I believe in a higher power and I can no longer live the Catholic lie.
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