Racism shock in Catholic Church

Times Live ^ | Mar 13, 2005 | FUTHI NTSHINGILA

[Gamecock]

AN EXPLOSIVE internal report has exposed widespread racism in the Catholic Church in South Africa.

The Sunday Times has obtained a copy of the 31-page report called Racism and the Catholic Church, produced by the church's Justice and Peace Department after a two-year investigation into race relations among the church's leadership and its three-million-strong congregation.

The hard-hitting report found that the dominance of bishops who "come from the European cultural perspective" in the Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference ensured that "white European perspectives and interests always set the agenda of the church".

The report says that Catholics "come into the church as privileged whites and underprivileged blacks. We have inherited a system of inequality."

It goes on: "Black Christians are waiting for a strong voice like that of John the Baptist coming from some African wilderness proclaiming the 10 years of true freedom - freedom from racism, poverty, diseases."

Cardinal Wilfrid Napier, head of the Catholic Church in South Africa, this week described some of the report's findings as "shocking and surprising".

The report reveals:

.White parishes were rich and well-equipped while few black parishes were;

.Poverty and obedience, central requirements of Catholic priests, were "experienced by some as really meant for the black members in practice";

.The interests of white parishes were favoured over those of black parishes;

.There was a different standard of living for white and black priests;

.There was distrust of black priests concerning management of funds;

.There was a belief by some white priests that they had "studied" black people and therefore "knew" them thoroughly; and

.Many white Catholics abandoned their parishes and schools when the numbers of black parishioners increased.

Napier said the report was a follow-up to a letter that the South African Catholic Bishops' Conference wrote on racism in 2003.

"I think it is normal that some people would show some sign of racist attitude," he said. "After all, we come from 300 years of racist attitude. You don't get over it very quickly."

The report noted that there appeared to be a "belief in the superiority of Western culture and the inferiority of African culture".

One black priest recalled in the report how he had accompanied a relative whose child wanted to attend a Catholic school and "a white parent actually screwed up her nose and complained about the safety of [her] children".

In yet another account, a white parishioner in Cape Town said his parish had decided that the "white" church building would be improved first.

This meant that no improvements could be made to the "black" church for a further 10 years.

Bishop Mlungisi Dlungwane, the chairman of the church's Justice and Peace Department, said the report had been commissioned by the Catholic bishops two years ago becauseit was time to stand up and sort it out because "it was embarrassing to have such a problem".

Of all the findings, Dlungwane said the one that saddened him the most was that the church's worshippers still did not celebrate together.

Father Dabula Mphako, a priest at Capital Park in Pretoria, said a group of priests called the African Catholic Priests' Solidarity Movement had organised themselves and had started challenging racism in the church in 1999.

Mphako said he hoped the report would get the church talking openly about its problems.

"It's very sad for us who have given our whole lives to the church and then you are treated as a second-class citizen," he said.

The Rev Molefe Tsele, general secretary of the South African Council of Churches, said the organisation had done its own research into racism in churches last year.

That inquiry had identified three areas across all denominations that needed to be dealt with.

"Integration of church members is an area. Not all churches have integrated completely.

"Secondly, the deployment of priests and, thirdly, the benefits that they get. Some [churches] are better off than others but these are the broad areas that we look at," he said.

Ben du Toit, spokesman for the Dutch Reformed Church, said he had no knowledge of any race-related incidents within his church within the last year and said racism was condemned by the church.

[skeeter]

They’ll never give up.

[Gamecock]

Ben du Toit, spokesman for the Dutch Reformed Church, said he had no knowledge of any race-related incidents within his church within the last year and said racism was condemned by the church.

[Gamecock]

Seeing that many Catholics want to discuss racism in the reformed church, let’s just discuss Rome for a minute.

[Pyro7480]

This is just all too typical of your M.O. All bad Catholic news, all the time.

[Carpe Cerevisi]

Yeah, there’s no racism at all in non-Catholic churches...no drinking either.

[jiminycricket000]

"The report noted that there appeared to be a "belief in the superiority of Western culture and the inferiority of African culture".

Gee, how awful that anyone hold a belief based on an obvious reality. Why don't those who hold this truth to be offensive just go and live in an African village of tin huts, pirates, terrorists, tyranny and witch doctors and tell us from there how successful and wonderful African culture is.

[Tanniker Smith]

Half the Sundays of the year, my parish Mass is celebrated by a visiting priest from Nigeria. Does that make mine a black parish?

[Petronski]

Seeing that many Catholics want to discuss racism in the reformed church...

You mean the way the Orthodox Presbyterian Church was founded by a racist segregationist pig named Gresham Machen?

[Petronski]

All bad Catholic news, all the time.

Four and a half years ago this report came out. In South Africa.

[markomalley]

Newspaper cartoon by APA

I do most solemnly promise and swear that I will always, to the utmost of my ability, labor, plead and wage a continuous warfare against ignorance and fanaticism; that I will use my utmost power to strike the shackles and chains of blind obedience to the Roman Catholic church from the hampered and bound consciences of a priest-ridden and church-oppressed people; that I will never allow any one, a member of the Roman Catholic church, to become a member of this order, I knowing him to be such; that I will use my influence to promote the interest of all Protestants everywhere in the world that I may be; that I will not employ a Roman Catholic in any capacity if I can procure the services of a Protestant.

I furthermore promise and swear that I will not aid in building or maintaining, by my resources, any Roman Catholic church or institution of their sect or creed whatsoever, but will do all in my power to retard and break down the power of the Pope, in this country or any other; that I will not enter into any controversy with a Roman Catholic upon the subject of this order, nor will I enter into any agreement with a Roman Catholic to strike or create a disturbance whereby the Catholic employes may undermine and substitute their Protestant co-workers; that in all grievances I will seek only Protestants and counsel with them to the exclusion of all Roman Catholics, and will not make known to them anything of any nature matured at such conferences.

I furthermore promise and swear that I will not countenance the nomination, in any caucus or convention, of a Roman Catholic for any office in the gift of the American people, and that I will not vote for, or counsel others to vote for, any Roman Catholic, but will vote only for a Protestant, so far as may lie in my power. Should there be two Roman Catholics on opposite tickets, I will erase the name on the ticket I vote; that I will at all times endeavor to place the political positions of this government in the hands of Protestants, to the entire exclusion of the Roman Catholic church, of the members thereof, and the mandate of the Pope.

To all of which I do most solemnly promise and swear, so help me God. Amen.

Sound about right?

[Ransomed]

Hey, at least the skulls seem to be cheerful.

Freegards

[Petronski]

Imagine bragging of a five-hundred-year family anti-Catholic grudge.

What a sick existence.

[bronx2]

The more nonsense they post the more obvious it should become apparent to you that the authors of these items are intellectually challanged. How many years do these inane debates continue without any closure? Remember, it would take GOD Himself to reform the Reformers who were the European colonists who first inhabited South Africa and who stole its wealth. Ignore these types of posts.

[Augustinian monk]

The report noted that there appeared to be a “belief in the superiority of Western culture and the inferiority of African culture”.

Duh

[ArrogantBustard]

[lastchance]

Not to dismiss the report and not to deny that any racism exists but please keep in mind that usually when it comes to issues Catholic if you see the words Justice and Peace in the title or source you are dealing with the most liberal members of the Church. And usually these reports do not have a status of infallibility and will be heavily biased towards the presupposition of the group’s agenda.

In other words I am sure they went looking for racism and they found it. Without even looking I will guess this group would also find
“Inequal treatment of women.”
“Environmental racism and other incidents of environmental injustice.”
“A need for increased awareness of the global crisis of climate change.”
“A church heirarchy out of touch with the lay members of the church.”
“Evidence of discrimination against homosexuals.”

Another thing they assume that the inequalties that exist between whites and minorities must be caused by racism and leave out even considering other reasons. I’m not sure about in South Africa but here in the U.S. I would argue that the prevalence of black families being headed by single females might have more to do with poverty levels than the race of the families.

And I am sure that if this group turned its eye towards non Catholic Churches to see if racism existed they would indeed find it. Whether that racism was intentional and approved and encouraged by say “First Presbyterian Church of The Veldt” would not matter at all. You would be found guilty and told to remedy this right away and get some dang solar panels on the roof as well. Your reply that you totally condemned racism and were working to eliminate it from your church would not be good enough. You are and you will always be a racist pig because that is what Whites are, racist pigs who rape and pillage the environment.

But I still like you.

[BertWheeler]

Since I no longer believe in racism and all it’s false trappings, I must declare this article to be just gamesmanship.

However, I don’t consider lower standards for Africans to be all that harsh. The Church must look out for the intellectually or spiritually weak.

[vladimir998]

How did the Dutch Reformed Church handle apartheid?