black catholic congress

Local Black Catholics Prepare for National Congress

By Alfonso Aguilar
HERALD Staff Writer
(From the Issue of 3/22/07)

ARLINGTON — Dozens of black Catholics from throughout the diocese attended a workshop last weekend to prepare for a national conference in July.
The event, held at Our Lady Queen of Peace Church in Arlington, was titled a “Day of Reflection — Christ is with us: Celebrating the Gifts of the Sacraments,” the theme of the X Black Catholic Congress to take place in Buffalo, N.Y., during the second week of July.
“We are getting ready for the national conference. Although we are not as big a delegation as those that may arrive from Atlanta or Chicago, we are a good team with more than 10 years working together,” said Gene Harper, acting chairman for the diocesan Office of Black Catholic Ministries (OBCM).
“We had the first diocesan delegation with former Arlington Bishop John Keating,” he said.
At that time, 10 parishioners, led by St. Joseph Parish in Alexandria due to its predominantly Afroamerican population, attended the national event. Since then, a diocesan delegation has attended all the congresses, including the last one in Chicago in 2002.
Harper estimates that this year some 25 persons will represent the Arlington Diocese in Buffalo.
Last Saturday, attendees came from Holy Family Parish in Dale City, St. William of York Parish in Stafford, Our Lady Queen of Peace, where the event took place, and St. Joseph, in addition to members of St. Jude Mission in Fredericksburg.
Pastors, Fathers Leonard J. Tuozzolo and Francis M. Hull, respectively, also attended the workshop.
Participants discussed topics such as spirituality, parish life, youths, Catholic education, social justice, racism, HIV/AIDS and Africa.
“These are the eight principles from the National Black Catholic Congress pastoral plan of action,” said Harper. “The main goal is to empower, renew and transform people and our communities.”
When a participant asked about one principle, youths, Harper agreed that the Church and the leadership need a more aggressive approach to reach out to this population.
“They are the future of our communities and the future of our Church,” said Gwyne Arnold from St. Jude Mission.
Arnold said she is eager to attend the congress to enrich her knowledge of faith and social issues at a national level.
Jean Simpson from Holy Family Parish will also attend the Buffalo conference. During the workshop she encouraged other parishioners to attend because of her experience in the previous one.
“I heard powerful messages,” she said.
Harper said the group is “equally interested in religious themes as well as in social issues as racism in this country or poverty and AIDS in Africa. They like to discuss all of the aspects regarding their faith and life, and they know that it is in the interest of our Church to serve the needs in Africa.”
The diocese has been a very active participant in the National Black Catholic Congress since its re-institution in 1987 in the nation’s capital. The 1987 event marked the first congress held by black Catholics in the country in more than 100 years.
Established in 1998, the OBCM’s central focus is service to the black Catholic community and a more global focus on the total Church community through culturally enriched spiritual programs.