back to the National Black Catholic Congress : Home Page THE NATIONAL BLACK CATHOLIC CONGRESS
The Black Catholic Monthly | African Americans | Catholic News Black Catholic Congress: "We hold ourselves accountable to our baptismal 
    commitment to witness and proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ"
NBCC
Calendar Of Events Calendar Congress X Media Center  Subscribe to "The Black Catholic Monthly" Newsletter News      Contact Us Contact Us
NBCC
NBCC
To Black Catholic Monthly Home Page

Featured Article: “Mercy Is the Lord’s Most Powerful Message!” - Do you remember where you were and what you were doing when Jorge Mario Bergoglio, S.J., the Cardinal Archbishop of Buenos Aries, Argentina, was elected Pope Francis, the Bishop of Rome and 265th Successor of St. Peter?

If you were in the continental United States, chances are you were at work (or school), perhaps finishing lunch. I was in my office, having completed editing an article I had written on the papacy only a few hours before.

  Read Full Story

NBCC STRUCTURE
 African American Catholic Bishops
 Congress Directory
 Board of Trustees
 NBCC Staff
Parish Search
 Find a Parish in your State
Black Catholic Newsletter
 ”Mercy Is the Lord’s Most Powerful Message!”
 Do You Want to Confess Now or Worry about it Later?
 Sister Roberta Fulton, SSMN
 National Day of Prayer for Justice and Mercy
 The Road to Youth Ministry: Discerning God’s Call
 Most Americans Should Consume Less Sodium
Publications
 Book Of The Month:
Introduction to the Devout Life
 Author Of The Month:
Vincent D. Rougeau
NBCC Spotlight
 Canonization for Mother Mary Lange
Upcoming Events
 5th Annual Women's Day of Reflection
May 11, 2013
 IAACEC (Interregional African American Catholic Evangelization Conference) “Living Our Faith”
June 14 - 16, 2013
 The 2013 Archbishop Lyke Conference
June 19-23, 2013
 Men’s Day of Prayer & Healing
March 9, 2012
 Women's Day of Reflection
June 29, 2013
 Men's Day of Reflection
July 13, 2013
 World Youth Day 2013
July 23-28, 2013
 NCYC 2013: SIGNED, SEALED, DELIVERED - The National Catholic Youth Conference
November 21-23, 2013
 
In The News
 Pope Francis’ Election: Not a ‘Dry Eye in the House’ at Conclave, Cardinal Says
 Text of Pope Francis I's remarks from balcony after his election
 God’s mercy is highlighted in Pope Francis’ coat of arms.
 Archbishop Dolan explains why 60 percent of American Catholics are out of touch with the Church
 Pope Francis says good priests bring joy, comfort to those in need
 Teens in LA prison thank Pope for example of love
 USCCB: lobby senators on behalf of assault-weapon ban, universal background checks
 Seattle archbishop decries Washington abortion bill
 The Preservation of Marriage: A Battle Worth Fighting
NBCC Media
  Visit the NBCC Media Center
  Listen Live to Vatican Radio
requires Real Audio)
RECOMMENDED SITES
 Site Links

 NBCC Featured Article

Silent No More: A Major Crisis in the African-American Community

Comment on Featured Articles in the forum

The same folks who profess to fight for the interests of African Americans in health care, educational and employment opportunities, voter representation, affirmative action and all those other areas of civic life for which early civil rights pioneers fought so hard, have abandoned the cause of justice in reference to respect for the lives of innocent and defenseless pre-born African-Americans. They have sided with those who use the Supreme Court decision Roe vs. Wade to deny a whole class of persons the right to exist.

The irony here is especially tragic since the Constitution of the United States sanctioned slavery and the "3/5ths clause" which relegated Africans in America to the status of chattel slavery. It was the Supreme Court that continued to support this same Constitutional "de-personalization" and the consequent second class status of people of African descent through two infamous decisions, namely Dred Scott, which upheld the fugitive slave law, and Plessy vs. Ferguson, which affirmed the Jim Crow system of segregation in the south. The famed decision mandating the dismantling of segregation "with all deliberate speed" in Brown vs. The Board of Education of Topeka, KS (the case argued by the late Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall) was a significant reversal of the Court's hitherto support of less than equal protection under the law for persons of African descent in America.

This abandonment by major Black leaders of the newest unprotected class, the pre-born, was made painfully clear in January of this year when Reverend Al Sharpton, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for the presidency of the United States, addressed the NARAL (National Abortion Rights Action League) Pro-Choice America Dinner in Washington, DC. After proudly announcing that he had just crossed the picket line of pro-life protesters using his now famous line "it is time for the Christian Right to meet the right Christians," Sharpton went on to defend his vociferous support of legalized abortion. He said:

I trust the decisions of women because it is a human right that Roe vs. Wade decided on. This is not about abortion, this is about human rights, this is about human dignity, this is about women having their say-so over their own body and over how they will decide to proceed with their life, and if America is to be America, we must protect women's right to choose for themselves.

 Abortion: Silent No More (Continued)

Article Index

View Featured
Article Index

Become a Friend of the National Black Catholic Congress

Pastoral Letter: "What We Have Seen and Heard" Celebrates 25th Anniversary

Fundraising as Ministry: Vision, Invitation and Conversion

The Experience of God's Presence

The Basics of Being Married in the Catholic Church

Building a Bridge over Troubled Waters

Reading as a Subversive Act: Libraries as the Guide to Liberation

Son, They Have No Wine! Reflections on the Importance of Devotion to Mary

Tenth National Black Catholic Congress

Appreciative Inquiry: Become a Positive Force for Change

Catholic Campus Ministry

Fundamentals of Appreciative Inquiry (Part I)

Fundamentals of Appreciative Inquiry (Part II)

His Greatest Gift

Joannes Paulus II, Magnus

Lent to Easter: Preparation for Celebration

Mary - Mother, Woman, Disciple

Research That Matters

Silent No More: A Major Crisis in the African-American Community

The Best Kept Secret

The Food Crisis in Niger

The Passion of Mel Gibson's "Passion"

To Marry or Not To Marry - That is the question!

View Featured
Article Index


By Rev. John J. Raphael, SSJ.

Subscribe to the Black Catholic Newsletter

to top of page

NBCC
NBCC

Web Design : Web Marketing : Web Management : Baltimore Maryland - SLEEPER Technologies
 
An STI Site | Web Design by SLEEPER Technologies
Copyright © 2003 www.nbccongress.org | All Rights Reserved | Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without the expressed written permission of www.nbccongress.org is prohibited.