Actually there have been and still are some racist Catholics in the US. I’m black/N. Amer/Irish and it is disturbing but not rare. It depends on where you live as to how overt the prejudice and/or discrimination is.
Historically in the US we have had our share of discrimination in the church. Blacks were not able to become priests or join religious orders as nuns for quite a long time. In Kentucky where my father’s family is from the religious orders just recently apologized for having allowed women to come to convents as nuns with personal slaves! See the article linked about some black nuns.
washtimes.com/metro/20060209-111124-6446r.htm
I think that last comment is very unfair! The only reason i mentioned he was Black was to make the point about racism.
Your comment proves another point to me: Blacks seem to scapegoat whites who are on their side for the sins of the ones who are NOT… I am sorry, but this has been MY reality. Maybe it is just self-destructiveness on their part… which stems from all the BS they’ve had to put up with… I don’t know. But i don’t appreciate it. I wasn’t there (in the slave days) and i didn’t do anything racist. So don’t take your anger out on me and others who would have, if given the chance, fought alongside MLK and others for equal rights for Blacks and ALL citizens.
I have other things to say, but those things kind of went out the window with your last comment…
I would apologize for racist Whites but why should I? I didn’t and would not do what they have done… Even so, i empathize…
In the Jim Crow south in many places blacks in Catholic churches had to wait until all whites went to communion before they could go. This was in my parents’ lifetime, so many black Americans still think of our church in those terms. Fair or not it is often seen as a “white” church.
In contrast, the “masons” that your acquaintance was joining are likely the Prince Hall Masons which are all black in membership. They were formed when blacks could not join the other lodges. To be fair, all of the men that I know who joined are strong Christians who joined for the support network and business/social contacts that the masons provided. (Most still join for these reasons in my experience.) You have to remember that well into the 20th century blacks could not stay at most hotels or eat at restaurants while travelling, so we had to know someone along the way if taking a long trip, especially across the south.
My family was military and I can clearly remember having to pack all of our food and drive straight through for 24 hours (before all interstates were completed) to get home for holidays. We had to be careful even of trying to use public restrooms (supposedly after desegregation). I’m only 43 so this is not ancient history. I doubt this type of scenario even occurred to you when talking with this man because it is so far from your own life experience.
May I also note that you have referred to him not as a “man” but as “the Black” which I find a bit disturbing. It makes me think that race was the 1st and most important thing you saw rather than him as a person or a man. You may not have meant anything negative, but it comes across badly and could close a listener’s ears to anything else you had to say. I wonder if that is how you came across in conversation face to face?
