Black Catholics in Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island to voice concerns at national convocation

Black Catholics in Brooklyn, Queens, and Long Island will address their concerns at a national convocation. (Photo by Asia Culture Center from Pexels)

Black Catholics in the boroughs of Brooklyn, Queens, and Long Island are getting ready to express their concerns about how they are treated by the church at a national convocation, which will be held from Wednesday to Sunday, July 20 to 23, in National Harbor, Maryland.

Black Catholics' Concerns

According to The Tablet, during the listening session that was part of the online conversation, participants were asked to share their thoughts on the topics that they hoped would be addressed at the upcoming 13th National Black Catholic Congress.

According to Shaniqua Wilson, a member of the advisory board of the Vicariate who was in charge of facilitating the listening session, the primary complaint that was addressed was the lack of respect that black people feel they receive from the church.

Wilson paid careful attention to the responses to the questions concerning respect; however, the reactions to the second question were the ones that stood out to her.

Participants stated that they attended church to participate in holy Communion and stressed that they would not be deterred from attending by whatever level of contempt directed toward them.

Another issue of concern involved children and teenagers.

The participants also emphasized the importance of increasing the number of people pursuing a vocation in monastic life, particularly among the African American community.

As reported, the year's theme, "Write the Vision: A Prophetic Call to Thrive," is derived from the Old Testament book Habakkuk.

The congress functions similarly to a convention, with speeches and panels. Although a religious event, it also includes Masses and prayer services.

As mentioned, the conclusion of the four-day meeting will be adopting a Pastoral Plan of Action, a collection of recommendations for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

On Monday, Feb. 13, a "Day of Reflection" was held, co-hosted by the Vicariate for Black Catholic Issues for the Diocese of Brooklyn and the Office of Multicultural Diversity for the Diocese of Rockville Centre.

Since 1889, the National Black Catholic Congress, an umbrella organization representing African American Catholics and the allied laity organizations with whom they are linked, has been having reunions throughout the country.

The Diocese of Brooklyn, which has more than 200,000 Black Catholics, plans to send a delegation of at least 40 people this summer. The Diocese of Brooklyn has the most significant number of Black Catholics of any diocese in the United States.

National Black Catholic Congress

National Black Catholic Congress (NBCC) is the organization that speaks for African American Roman Catholics and other affiliated groups in the United States.

The congress aims to bear witness and spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ and serves as the foundation for our organization's mission.

Its commitment invigorates them to evangelize African Americans inside and outside of the church to increase the church's membership and spiritual depth and improve the health of African Americans, both physically and spiritually, so that they can participate fully in all aspects of church life and societal life.

Also, they aim to establish working relationships with Roman Catholic organizations nationally and have an ongoing strategy for evangelizing African Americans.