National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus

Last updated
National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus
AbbreviationNBCCC
Formation1968
FounderFather Herman Porter
Founded at Detroit, Michigan
TypeNon-governmental organization
Region served
United States
Membership
Active and retired African American bishops, priests, deacons, religious brothers, and seminarians of the Catholic Church in the United States.
President
Father Kareem Smith
Affiliations
  • National Association of Black Catholic Deacons
  • National Black Seminarians Association
  • National Black Sisters Conference
  • Black Catholic Joint Conference
Website https://nbccc.cc/

The National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus (NBCCC) is an organization of African-American clergy, religious, and seminarians within the Catholic Church in the United States of America.

Contents

History

The group was founded in April 1968, shortly after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. The murder of King sparked a radical activist notion among Black Catholic clergy, who had themselves been mistreated[ citation needed ] for some time within the Catholic Church—after being locked out from the priesthood altogether for much of US Church history.[ citation needed ]

The new group was convened in Detroit by Fr Herman A. Porter, who sent out a call to Black Catholic clergy nationwide. A religious brother, a religious sister (Sr. Martin De Porres Grey, RSM), and a White clergyman also attempted to attend, but were eventually rebuffed. (Grey went on to found the National Black Sisters Conference shortly thereafter.)

The group discussed the situation before them, and formulated a statement that, after being published, made waves within the Church, largely due to its opening line:

The Catholic Church in the United States, primarily a white racist institution, has addressed itself primarily to white society and is definitely a part of that society. On the contrary, we feel that her primary, though not exclusive work, should be in the area of institutional, attitudinal and societal change. [1]

The statement also made a number of demands of the largely White hierarchy, most of which went unanswered.

The group has continued to meet annually since, including in a joint conference with the NBSC and the National Black Seminarians' Association (NBCSA), a constituent organization of the NBCCC.

In 2020, the NBCCC teamed with the NBSC, National Association of Black Catholic Administrators, and the Institute for Black Catholic Studies to make a statement in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. [2]

Joseph Davis Award

Each year during the Black Catholic Joint Conference with Black sisters, seminarians, deacons and their wives, the NBCCC bestows the Fr Joseph M. Davis Award for lifetime achievement, so named in honor of the NBCCC's first executive director. [3]

Awardees have included:

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Reverend</span> Christian religious honorific style

The Reverend is an honorific style given before the names of certain Christian clergy and ministers. There are sometimes differences in the way the style is used in different countries and church traditions. The Reverend is correctly called a style, but is sometimes referred to as a title, form of address, or title of respect. The style is also sometimes used by leaders in other religions such as Judaism and Buddhism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Josephites (Maryland)</span> Catholic religious society

The Society of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart, also known as the Josephites, is a society of apostolic life of pontifical right for men headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland. Members work specifically among African Americans and take the postnominals SSJ.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Choir dress</span> Formal religious clothing

Choir dress is the traditional vesture of the clerics, seminarians and religious of Christian churches worn for public prayer and the administration of the sacraments except when celebrating or concelebrating the Eucharist. It differs from the vestments worn by the celebrants of the Eucharist, being normally made of fabrics such as wool, cotton or silk, as opposed to the fine brocades used in vestments. It may also be worn by lay assistants such as acolytes and choirs. It was abandoned by most of the Protestant churches that developed from the sixteenth-century Reformation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Society of the Divine Word</span> Catholic missionary religious congregation

The Society of the Divine Word, abbreviated SVD and popularly called the Verbites or the Divine Word Missionaries, and sometimes the Steyler Missionaries, is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men. As of 2020, it consisted of 5,965 members composed of priests and religious brothers working in more than 70 countries, now part of VIVAT international. It is one of the largest missionary congregations in the Catholic Church. Its members add the nominal letters SVD after their names to indicate membership in the Congregation. The superior general is Paul Boedhie Kleden who hails from Indonesia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology</span> Catholic seminary in Indiana, US

The Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology is a Roman Catholic seminary and school of theology in Saint Meinrad, Indiana. It is affiliated with the Saint Meinrad Archabbey in St. Meinrad, Indiana. The institution was named after Meinrad of Einsiedeln, a ninth century hermit living in what is today Switzerland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catholic Church in Pakistan</span>

The Catholic Church in Pakistan is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the pope in Rome.

Ecclesiastical titles are the formal styles of address used for members of the clergy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Black Catholic Congress</span> Black Catholic advocacy group

The National Black Catholic Congress (NBCC) is a Black Catholic advocacy group and quinquennial conference in the United States. It is a spiritual successor to Daniel Rudd's Colored Catholic Congress movement of the late 19th and early 20th century.

Leonard James Olivier, was an African-American Catholic bishop. He was born in Lake Charles, Louisiana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henriette DeLille</span>

Henriette Díaz DeLille, SSF was a Louisiana Creole of color and Catholic religious sister from New Orleans. She founded the Sisters of the Holy Family in 1836 and served as their first Mother Superior. The sisters are the second-oldest surviving congregation of African-American religious.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Diocese of Cristalândia</span> Catholic ecclesiastical territory

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Cristalândia is a diocese in the ecclesiastical province of Palmas in central Brazil.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Diocese of Rourkela</span> Roman Catholic diocese in Orissa, India

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Rourkela is a diocese located in the city of Rourkela in the ecclesiastical province of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar in India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apostolic Vicariate of Nekemte</span> Catholic missionary jurisdiction in Ethiopia

The Apostolic Vicariate of Nekemte is a Roman Catholic apostolic vicariate located in Nekemte, Ethiopia.

The National Catholic Institute of Theology (NCIT) is a Catholic theological institute established in Karachi, Pakistan in September 1997. It offers academic courses leading to a diploma in theology, as well as programs for laypeople and religious involved in Church ministries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Office for Black Catholics</span>

The National Office for Black Catholics (NOBC) was an organization of Black Catholics in the United States, founded in 1970 and headquartered in Washington, DC. Its mission was “to make the Church relevant to the needs of the black community; to assist generally in the black liberation movement; to assist black Catholics in their efforts to become self-determining; and to become an effective voice in the whole of Church government.”

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black Catholic Theological Symposium</span> Catholic organization (e. 1978)

The Black Catholic Theological Symposium is a United States-based Catholic organization founded in 1978 to promote theological education and research concerning Black Catholics.

Cyprian Davis, O.S.B., D.Hist.Sci. was an African-American Catholic monk, priest, and historian at St. Meinrad Archabbey in Indiana. He is known for his work on the history of Black Catholicism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black Catholicism</span> African-American religious group

Black Catholicism or African-American Catholicism comprises the African-American people, beliefs, and practices in the Catholic Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black Catholic Movement</span> Movement of African-American Catholics in the US

The Black Catholic Movement was a movement of African-American Catholics in the United States that developed and shaped modern Black Catholicism.

The National Black Sisters' Conference (NBSC) is an association of Black Catholic religious sisters and nuns based in the United States. It was founded in Pittsburgh in 1968 by then-Mercy Sister Martin de Porres Grey, following her exclusion from the inaugural meeting of the National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus earlier that same year.

References

  1. Tinner-Williams, Nate (2020-05-30). "Statement of the Black Catholic Clergy Caucus, 1968". Where Peter Is. Retrieved 2021-02-28.
  2. Joint Statement on the Black Lives Matter Movement & Black Catholic Responsibility , retrieved 2021-02-28
  3. "Fr. Joseph Davis Awardee". NBCCC. Retrieved 2022-09-29.