Posted on 06/23/2020 5:29:57 PM PDT by marshmallow
Blacks probably prefer this.
In Delcambre, LA a black parish exists literally 2 blocks from a white parish.
A few years ago, a vote was taken in both, to determine whether the parishes could merge. This was to save resources & because of a shortage of priests.
It didn’t matter if the desegregated parish would in future meet in the historically black church, or in the white one. The archdiocese would leave it to the parishioners to decide the details.
Well, the white folks mostly voted to desegregate,with a few dissenters, but the blacks voted 100% to remain segregated in their church 2 blocks away.
But there’s only 1 priest.
So, the white catholics have mass at 9 am, and the blacks at 10.
The priest grabs the Body & Blood of Christ and, with vestments streaming, runs like the dickens down the street, much to the amusement of the unchurched who like to sit watching from their front porches.
MY GOD we are going backwards with segregation AGAIN!! What the hell do these people really want, they WANT racism!!
“..but only black Catholics will be allowed in the black churches”
There’s a wonderful black parish in New Orleans— St. Augustine’s.
It’s in the Treme neighborhood, a fairly upscale area now.
(At least I think it’s still open. There was some talk of shutting it down after Katrina.)
There are jazz masses & all are welcome. Right inside the door is a statue of St. Louis (Armstrong with his horn.)
St. Louis !!! lol...... Prots gonna be all over that deal......
Will there be one that will specifically serve the White Catholic community?
If not, why not?
Some groups get their own stuff plus a share of The Everybody Stuff.
Still many ethnic parishes in PA today - Italian, Polish, etc.
Nothing wrong with this idea.
See my post #27 above.
It made LESS sense 100 years ago if you were Catholic. All masses at the time were in ONE language -- Latin -- regarding of the ethnicity of the people who attended. Didn't matter what your native tongue was, the service was universally accessible (and FYI I am not of those "we should go back to all masses being only in Latin" Catholics)
Never-the-less, there were dozens of parishes that sprouted up that were specially aimed at one ethnicity -- Italian, Irish, Mexican, Polish, etc., and it often considered awkward and unwelcoming if someone from a different ethnicity went to Mass at a church aimed at another ethnic group.
Many of them are still around, and maintain their cultural legacy, but have become much more integrated in modern times.
Personally, I have no problem with creating a new parish aimed specifically for black Catholics. It's not the same as a segregated "blacks ONLY" church, as whites are free to attend, although probably few will and even fewer will make it a regular thing.
We actually have such a parish that was created in Chicago about a decade ago, by merging four or five languishing Catholic churches in neighborhoods that had become heavily black. Nobody noticed because its NOT one of those insane "black liberation theology" churches that goes around preaching "social justice" and is Catholic-in-name-only, like "Father" Pflakey did to poor St. Sabina.
The "mainstream" black Catholic church in Chicago is St. Benedict the African. You've probably never heard of it because they get zero media coverage, and their pastor isn't out preaching crazy sermons telling them to lay down in front of traffic or attack gun store owners:
> All masses at the time were in ONE language — Latin — regarding of the ethnicity of the people who attended. <
True that. But consider all the church-related social events. The dinners, etc. If you spoke only Italian, it would only make sense that you’d want to socialize with others who spoke Italian.
> it often considered awkward and unwelcoming if someone from a different ethnicity went to Mass at a church aimed at another ethnic group <
You’ll get no argument from me there.
Hell, *I* feel out of place there as one of the few white people who is entirely of WESTERN European ancestry.
But its the right parish for me!
> But its the right parish for me! <
I am a bit envious as I am still searching.
Let’s segregate the churches in the name of equality!
My experience is similar to BillyBoy’s (I think).
Growing up, I was told that new immigrants established their own parishes partly because they weren’t welcome in other parishes when they emigrated here.
Also, in addition to a shared language, they wanted to celebrate their own traditions and venerate saints from their own countries. Generations of my family belonged to such a parish.
While many parishes were based around European immigrant communities, other parishes were (for example) Chinese Catholic, Black Catholic, etc.
Now parishes are merging. Some local ethnic parishes tried resisting mergers with each other. Each wanted to keep its own traditions celebrating its own history and heritage, but these once-thriving parishes had become so small that the mergers were unavoidable.
What seems to happen in these mergers is that either (1) the newly merged parish decides not to focus on any one particular ethnic heritage, or (2) the parish focuses on one group over all the others.
My current parish merged, and now many different immigrant groups, along with Americans of various backgrounds, worship together... or do we? The merged parish mainly celebrates the saints and traditions of one ethnic group over all others. So, I can understand the need for a different parish.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.