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2 weeks ago | 
blackcatholicmessenger.org | Nathaniel Tinner |Dorothy Dempsey
WASHINGTON — The Society of St. Vincent de Paul, known for its worldwide mission of caring for the poor, christened a new office in the nation’s capital this month with an internationally attended celebration.
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1 month ago | 
blackcatholicmessenger.org | Daryl Grigsby |Tim Tilghman |Alessandra Harris |Dorothy Dempsey
Since 2021, Pope Francis has asked Catholics to consider “synodality” as a fundamental characteristic of our Church. Synodality and “synod” derive from two words, syn (“together”) and hodos (for “door,” or “journey”). The Holy Father says our journey together toward the Kingdom of God also includes a mission of mercy and justice. The Synod on Synodality began with parishes, schools, religious orders, and other Catholic institutions being asked to listen to each other and those on the margins.
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1 month ago | 
blackcatholicmessenger.org | Tim Tilghman |Alessandra Harris |Dorothy Dempsey |Nathaniel Tinner
This is a time of celebration. In the Archdiocese of Washington, we are still celebrating the priesthood of our recently retired archbishop, Cardinal Wilton Gregory. Not only have we seen his picture in the cardinal’s red, but over the last year we have also seen his picture as one among ten African-American Catholic bishops who penned the pastoral letter “What We Have Seen and Heard” just over 40 years ago. How is it that this cause for celebration came about?
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1 month ago | 
blackcatholicmessenger.org | Nathaniel Tinner |Dorothy Dempsey |Daryl Grigsby
Democratic Rep. Adriano Espaillat of New York called the Trump administration’s first six weeks in office a “reign of terror” during remarks given in response to the president’s joint address to Congress Tuesday night in Washington. “This night and for the last 45 days, we've seen a president who acts more like a king than like a president,” the Black Catholic legislator said in a livestreamed speech.
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1 month ago | 
blackcatholicmessenger.org | Nathaniel Tinner |Dorothy Dempsey
Black women — Washington DC — Bishops — Racism — Justice — Michigan — Detroit — Jobs The Michigan-born attorney and former judge had served at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops since 2018 and left quietly in January. Danielle M. Brown is out as the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ associate director for the Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism, the latest change in a new-look social justice department for the nation’s episcopate.
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1 month ago | 
blackcatholicmessenger.org | Nathaniel Tinner |Dorothy Dempsey
Dr. Alvin Poussaint, a noted Ivy League psychiatric scholar who wrote on the African-American response to racism, has died in Massachusetts following a short illness. He was 90 years old and his wife, Dr. Tina Young Poussaint of Harvard Medical School (HMS), announced his passing on Feb. 24. “Dr. Poussaint was a legendary figure at HMS and beyond. He was an influential psychiatrist, scholar, and advocate for equitable access and opportunity,” said Dr. George Q. Daley, Harvard’s medical school dean.
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1 month ago | 
blackcatholicmessenger.org | Nathaniel Tinner |Alessandra Harris |Dorothy Dempsey
“Wilderness Within: A Guided Lent Journal for Prayer and Meditation” (Sr Josephine Garrett, CSFN)Published in time for Lent 2025, the new devotional combines reflections, journaling, and art to inspire a faith-filled journey toward Easter. Released in December, it is the second book from Garrett, an African-American Catholic religious sister based in Tyler, Texas.
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1 month ago | 
blackcatholicmessenger.org | Dorothy Dempsey |Melissa Menny |Nathaniel Tinner |Alessandra Harris
The beauty of words can take your breath away. When quietly and softly spoken. Like a soft evening breeze. The whisper of silk against the skin. Caressing and comforting. When harsh words are spoken. The spoken words lose their beauty. And become likea raging storm in the night. Bullets piercing the heart of whomeverthe target may be. They never miss their mark. Straight to the heart. And the impact of words diminishes. Dorothy Dempsey is a senior citizen who loves to write.
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2 months ago | 
blackcatholicmessenger.org | Alessandra Harris |Dorothy Dempsey |Nathaniel Tinner |Daryl Grigsby
Catholic communities today are facing significant challenges. In addition to the clericalism that has been around for centuries, the Church is facing distrust because of the sexual abuse scandal, disappointment because of parish closures, and historic injustices such as colonization, slavery, racism, and violence against Native Americans. The Catholic sex abuse scandal has shown the worst side of clericalism.
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2 months ago | 
blackcatholicmessenger.org | Samantha Smith |Nathaniel Tinner |Dorothy Dempsey
A new musical blending contemporary hip-hop music and Catholic liturgy debuted Feb. 14-16 at the Lyke House, a Catholic Newman Center serving historically Black colleges in Atlanta. The “Hip-Hop Mass” from composer Dr. Kevin P. Johnson consists of 24 songs in the order of a Mass. The production includes choreography, liturgical dance, and even a depiction of the Eucharistic Prayer. “The beauty of the ‘Hip-Hop Mass’ is bringing young people back to the Church,” said Johnson.
