Revolt Simmers at Church - Race and Catholic Hierarchy Inflame Dispute in D.C. Parish

Washington Post ^ | January 18, 2005 | Robert E. Pierre

[Cincinatus' Wife]

...Fest said he has talked to critics, heard their concerns and has the authority he has been given. He suspended 17 people, including Alston, from usher and church duties -- they can now attend only services -- saying they didn't follow orders or the chain of command. He rejects the contention that he runs the church like a plantation. As a member of an order of priests devoted to black Catholics, Fest has been assigned to black parishes in Baltimore and New Orleans. "This is not a plantation," Fest said in an interview. "If I'm a racist, I have picked some interesting -- well, I didn't pick them -- assignments."

The story at Our Lady is one of clashing opinions and, for Alston and his disgruntled brethren, an attempt to regain control of what they view as their church. Their ancestors built it, and generations since have maintained it, tithed to it, sent their children to its school.

What they have learned is that butting heads with a 2,000-year-old institution is no easy task. People at every level of church hierarchy have told them the same thing: The Catholic Church is no democracy.

...order has broken down so thoroughly in this case that the auxiliary bishop of Washington, the Rev. Martin Holley, has sent word that the upset group should obey the pastor or find another church.

"I have never seen a group of parishioners write a list of demands and take this approach," said Susan Gibbs, Holley's spokeswoman. "The people have had an opportunity many times to have their views heard."

Alston,..."I'm supposed to sit down and shut up like a child?" he asked. "They think it's their way or the highway, but it's not going to happen like that. We're grown people."

The result is chaos.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

***....What got them all suspended was passing out fliers, with their names attached, making the allegations about Tyree and gathering 100 names on petitions seeking his removal. The suspensions infuriated the men.

"If that's not racism, I don't know what is," Alston said at a recent caucus. After several people made similar accusations, Paul Kearney, a former federal investigator and community activist, piped up: "I don't agree with you calling [Fest] a racist."

But the men made a pact to speak with one voice in public, and in public there have been plenty of references to race.

To the dismay of many parishioners, the group picketed on Morris Road SE in front of the church this summer. Its placards compared Fest to a grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, and they chanted slogans including "Jim Crow has got to go" and "Give us our church back."

The men view their fight as a symbol of larger injustices associated with being black in America. For more than a century, black Catholics have lobbied, with some success, for recognition of their unique cultural expressions within the church, such as using gospel music and Protestant-like sermons. Still, many believe the Catholic Church isn't doing enough.

At one meeting, Bill Shelton, a lawyer, shared a passage from Randall Robinson's "Quitting America," which chronicled his decision to move to the Caribbean island of St. Kitts rather than endure racism in the United States.

"I am convinced now that I cannot change them from within or without, and even attempting to from within is to run the risk of losing one's soul," read Shelton, a suspended parish council member.

All nodded their heads in agreement...........***

The Rev. Donald Fest greets parishioners after a Mass at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church in Anacostia. (Photos By Bill O'leary -- The Washington Post)

[dawn53]

My, my....the word "plantation" has become quite popular in recent days.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Yes. It certainly has.

Racism is an easy fall back position for the intellectually lazy.

[BlessedBeGod]

What a BS article. It only gives a tiny few details as to the facts -- not enough for the reader to understand exactly what the complaints are about. Most of the article is emotional outbursts and whining and playing the race card.

But then what else did I expect from the Washington Post?

[nmh]

The last straw for the disgruntled parishioners came when Tyree began implementing changes that Fest ordered for the Panorama Room -- changes that the archdiocese said has resulted in a healthier bottom line.

People who used to have keys and unfettered access now must seek permission to use the room, and only for church purposes. Events sponsored by partisan groups were banned, and Fest, in concert with archdiocese policy, required all groups to acquire their own liability insurance before renting the room.

[nmh]

LEave it to ole HIll to spew some divisive speech.

[livius]

I read the whole article but I still couldn't figure out what they were upset about. I also wondered if the "Panorama Room" - which seems to be at the heart of this dispute - had perhaps been used for political meetings (i.e., Dem party), since the new guidelines specified that it could not be used for "partisan" purposes.

I would suspect this is just part of the general tightening of control over who gets to use Catholic spaces, but it's odd that the parishioners (or a small but vocal group, at least) are reacting this way. Perhaps there's more to the story than we have learned so far.

[BlessedBeGod]

Wow -- they're complaining about common sense policies and procedures being implemented? Poor babies.

[nmh]

That's what it looks like.

The article is a tad convoluted but that looks like the essense of it besides over working the "plantation" idea for ole Hill.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Thanks for the info.

For some reason that was left out of the article.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

What a BS article.

At the end of the article they let it be known that many in the congregation are upset by these activists.

[Mister Da]

I think it is interesting that the disgruntled group has chosen "to speak with one voice in public", yet this seems to part of their complaint about the church.

My guess is the race-baiting Alston needs to form his own church, so he can rule the roost. He's wasting his time & disrupting the parish, IMO.

[badpacifist]

They are just Protestant minds trying to fit inside the the Catholic building. They need to leave. It ain't their Church. List of demands?....... Sounds like Oct 31, 1517 A.D. Didn't work then either.

[metmom]

I noticed that, too. Now it's going to be the new buzzword that'll make you want to gag every time you hear it.

[mr_hammer]

Anyone close to the RCC knows that there is a cracking down on those parishioners who think they are in charge.

This is not only occurring DC but around the entire country, thankfully.

There is a re-emerence of discipline with in the faith and how problems are dealt with, as I have been told by one leader of the RCC, the inmates are no longer in charge of the asylum

[metmom]

People at every level of church hierarchy have told them the same thing: The Catholic Church is no democracy.

That seems to be what's at issue with a lot of the problems the Castholic Church is dealing with. So many parishoners seem to think that they have the ability to set or influence church doctirne. Also, in one respect the church is theirs, but OTOH, once you *GIVE* your money to someone else, it's no longer YOUR money.

[robowombat]

Yes a classic Wash Compost mountain out of a molehill article. Spread across four columns of the front page with a large color photo and another photo on the page the article was continued to. Classic Compost racebaiting approach to what amounts to a squabble among some parishioners. Also a great example of the poor job the Compost does in editing. The article rambles around interminably and drags in several red herrings as it wanders about. Tightly written articles addressing the 5W's are the exception rather than the rule at the Pest where the 'new journalism' has turned into just the sloppy and irrelevant journalism.

[redgolum]

So what was the issue?

I mean I kind of understand what is happening in the Polish parish in St. Louis. But what is the main cause here?

[nmh]

Thank hillary for the divisive "plantation" crap.

"The unusual public confrontation last month between priest and parishioner was one more point of friction in a year-long dispute -- Alston calls it a crusade -- in which a cadre of longtime members at Our Lady, one of Washington's historically black Catholic congregations, is in mutiny against the white pastor."