African American Catholics Excited About Pope Francis’ Visit, Hope He Addresses Race Issues

Norman Parish | As of Friday, September 25, 2015

Pope Francis began his first visit to the U.S. on Tuesday, Sept. 22. He is scheduled to visit the White House and address Congress and the United Nations in stops to Washington, D.C., New York City and Philadelphia.
Pope Francis began his first visit to the U.S. on Tuesday, Sept. 22. He is scheduled to visit the White House and address Congress and the United Nations in stops to Washington, D.C., New York City and Philadelphia.
Photo By: Getty Images

Illinois State Sen. Jacqueline Collins (Dist.-16th) remembers being ignored by white teachers at times when she raised her hand as a student at the former Aquinas Dominican Catholic High School on Chicago’s South Side in the 1960s.

“I felt the tinge of racism,” said Collins about her experiences at the school. “You might raise your hand and be ignored. [Blacks] didn’t always get counseling. … We huddled together to support ourselves.”

That experience was one of several Collins said was part of the shameful past that she and other blacks experienced as Catholics.

One of the most egregious injustices involving the Catholic Church was how it profited from slavery, she added.

This week, however, Collins and many other blacks are hoping that the Pope Francis will offer apologies for past injustices and address current problems affecting African Americans – from police brutality to urban violence.

Pope Francis began his first visit to the U.S. on Tuesday. He is scheduled to visit the White House and address Congress and the United Nations in stops to Washington, D.C., New York and Philadelphia.

The U.S. has about three million African American Catholics and at least 75,000 of them live in Chicago. About 30 Catholic churches in Chicago are predominantly African American.

Several black Chicagoans plan to make the trip to the East Coast in hopes of seeing Francis, including Collins and Father Michael Pfleger, a white priest who heads the predominately black St. Sabina Catholic Church, 1210 W. 78th Pl., Chicago.

Collins, is scheduled to go to the White House to greet Francis as a guest of the National Black Caucus of State Legislators.

Collins, a long time Catholic who said she also had positive experiences as a youngster at a predominantly black Catholic school on the South Side, said she is looking forward to seeing Francis.

“All the things I have read and seen show he is a true shepherd,” said Collins about Francis. “If he stays true to the tenets of the gospel, I would hope he would address poverty, income inequality, the evils of capitalism, how it marginalizes people -- and of course, racism.”

Pfleger, who is attending Francis’ address to Congress as a guest of U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly (Dist.-2nd), said he also wants the Pope to address issues affecting African Americans.

“I am hoping he is going to address the abandonment of poverty and the poor people around the world,” Pfleger said. “I am hoping he talks about the violence issues in America. . . There also is extreme racism today… “Racism is part of the DNA in America. It is time to clear the blood stream. I have the highest of hopes base on what he has done so far.”

Francis, 78, has been outspoken on a variety of issues since becoming Pope in 2013.

He has criticized the global economy for discarding people.

He also has spoken out on climate change, calling on Catholics to help protect the Earth and criticized clergy sexual abuse.

Francis, applauded for his humility, has preached mercy and forgiveness.

He called on compassion toward divorced and remarried Catholics.

“I think he is trying to bring the world together and all faiths together,” said Leroy Gill, a deacon at St. Dorothy Catholic Church, 450 E. 78th St., Chicago. “This man is shaking up the world. He is reuniting the flock.”

Gill believes because of Francis’ past positions, that there is good chance that he will address race issues.

One news report said that his staff was attempting to get details on the police killing in Ferguson, Mo., which led to a riot and launched a national movement on police brutality. A grand jury decided last year not to indict the white officer in the killing of the black teen.

If Francis speaks about race issues, it would not be the first for a pontiff.

In 1999, Pope John Paul II spoke about such issues during a visit to St. Louis, Mo.

Father Maurice Nutt, director of the Institute Black Catholic Studies at Xavier University of Louisiana, said he talked to Archbishop Justin Rigali, who is now retired, about having the pope then talk about race.

In a sermon, the pope then challenged America “to put an end to every form of racism, a plague which your bishops have called one of the most persistent and destructive evils of the nation.”

But today, Nutt said the problems still persist.

Nutt hopes Francis deals with specific problems affecting the African American community.

“(Racism) hasn’t ceased and it has become more pronounced in our society,” said Nutt, former pastor of St. Alphonsus’ Rock Catholic Church in St. Louis. “His message has been has been concerned with the oppressed.”

Steven Thorne, an African American priest who is pastor of St. Martin de Porres Catholic Church in Philadelphia, Pa., agreed.

“He is willing to have conversations,” said Thorne, a staff member of the National Black Catholic Congress who will be attending events to see Francis in his city. “He certainly is a change. That is what gets people so excited.”

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