Chicago’s black Catholic deacons ‘lift each other up’

By PAT MARRIN

SAN ANTONIO . Sr. Mary McCauley, her sil-ver hair framing a classic Irish face,could easily seem a diminutive nun inher 70s looking at retirement after alifetime in the classroom or conventadministration. But circumstancesand, she would say, divine providenceput her at St. Bridget Church as pas-toral administrator in May 2008, whenhundreds of FBI and Immigration andCustoms Enforcement agentsswooped down on the tiny town ofPostville in northeastern Iowa toround up hundreds of undocumented— mostly Guatemalan — workers at akosher meat-processing plant. Alertedto the raid, McCauley put out theword to the workers and their fami-

lies, “Tell them to come to thechurch.”

For many, the Postville story hascome to exemplify the human tollexacted by a failed immigration poli-

cy and the challenge to churches torespond with courage and compas-sion on an issue of decisive impor-tance to our national identity — and

Continued on Page 13This

issue

was

mail

ed on

Jan.

28.

REPORTERNATIONAL

CATHOLICT H E I N D E P E N D E N T N E W S S O U R C E

www.NCRonline.org FEBRUARY 4, 2011 Vol. 47, No. 8 | $2.95

Immigration: ‘Tell them to come to the church’

By CHRISTINA S.N.

LEWIS

ONGATA RONGAI, KENYA . In thecool early morning hoursof Jan. 14, I was awak-ened by piercing screams.Again and again, thewomen screamed.

I did not know it then,but gunmen had brokeninto the complex of theEvangelizing Sisters ofMary, an African order ofCatholic sisters where Iwas spending the night.

When the men came to

her door and demandedmoney, Sr. Levina Ka-likwela grabbed a small,gold-veneered framedpicture of the VirginMary with the baby Je-sus.

“They entered and Iheld it,” the sister toldme the next day, stand-ing in her destroyed bed-room. “I said, ‘God,we’re finished.’ And Ijust held it like this.”She grasped the picturein both hands and held itover her head.

The men hit the pic-ture with their knife,breaking it, Kalikwelatold me.

“They were askingme,” said Kalikwela, hervoice cracking. “And Iwas telling them I haveno money. I have nomoney.”

That night the gunmenmurdered one of thecompound’s guards.While they did not physi-cally harm the sisters,they manhandled three,

Continued on Page 8

ANALYSIS

By MICHAEL SEAN WINTERS

The U.S. bishops releasedtwo letters to members ofCongress late last month thatoutline the “principles and pri-orities that guide the public pol-icy efforts” of the U.S. Confer-ence of Catholic Bishops.

The first letter, signed bythe newly installed confer-ence president, ArchbishopTimothy Dolan of New York,exhorts the lawmakers to pro-tect human life from concep-tion to natural death. “Ourprayers and hopes [are] thatthis newly elected Congresswill advance the commongood and defend the life anddignity of all, especially vul-nerable and poor personswhose needs are critical inthis time of difficult economicand policy choices.”

The letters were dated Jan.14 and released to the publicJan. 18.

Dolan pledges to “seek waysto work constructively withthe administration and thenew Congress and others ofgoodwill to pursue policieswhich respect the dignity of allhuman life and bring greaterjustice to our nation and peaceto our world.”

The second letter — signedby Cardinal Daniel DiNardoof Galveston-Houston, headof the pro-life committee;Bishop Stephen E. Blaire ofStockton, Calif., chairman ofthe justice and human devel-opment committee; andArchbishop José H. Gomez ofLos Angeles, chairman of themigration committee — dealt

Continued on Page 12

Letters outlineUS bishops’

policy priorities

—NCR photo/Christina S.N. Lewis

Anna Mary Henrietta Nyangoma, general superior of the Evangelizing Sisters of Mary inOngata Rongai, Kenya, turns away as policemen examine the corpse of a watchman slainon the convent’s grounds Jan. 14.

Sr. Mary McCauley, left,stands with immigrantsIsabel Ampora andthree of her fourchildren, who wereallowed to return toPostville, Iowa, Dec. 4,on a visa granted toworkers who werevictims of crimes at theAgriprocessors plant.

—Judy Callahan, BVM

AFRICA: A REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK

Sisters and thievesAttack highlights all too common African violence

SPECIAL SECTION

DEACONSLetter to newly ordained;new statistics on deaconsin US; and more PAGES 1a-8a

BISHOP RUIZ Champion of poor andindigenous in Chiapas,Mexico, dies at 86 PAGE 11

COLUMN

GUN CULTURE Guns are tools with a very limited use

in our worldPAGE 16

US NEWS

BEATIFYINGJOHN PAUL IITension between personalholiness, public actions PAGE 5

January 30-February 12, 2015

By HEIDI SCHLUMPF

In predominantly African-American parishes across the Chicago archdiocese, deacons took to the pulpit to preach against violence in their communities on

the fourth Sunday of Advent. At the end of Mass, they removed their albs to reveal T-shirts with the message “All Lives Matter” and, before lead-ing the congregants to the streets to protest and pray, read a letter to new Archbishop Blase Cupich.

“We stand united as a result of Fergu-

in the pews for the lives lost and the end of prejudice and racism,” said the letter, dated Dec. 16, 2014.

It then called upon Cupich to join them: “We encourage you to speak with local and state politicians, as well as civil servants in the Archdiocese of Chicago, to reinforce that ‘All Lives Matter’ and that actions must be taken to ensure equality, dignity and trust in Chicago.”

Although they have not yet received an official response from Cupich, Gill is optimistic the new archbishop will continue Cardinal Francis George’s commitment to issues of violence in African-American communities. In his first weeks in Chicago, Cupich vis-

son, Staten Island and Cleveland, recog-nizing that violence, distrust and preju-dice are not restricted to any one city or community,” said the letter, signed by Deacon LeRoy Gill Jr., chair of the Black Catholic Deacons of Chicago.

The organization, with approximate-ly 30 members, was founded in 1968 to make sure the voices and concerns of black Catholics were heard. Today, it not only supports African-American men on the path to the diaconate but has made addressing violence — espe-cially against young blacks — a prior-ity.

“Priests and Deacons of the Archdio-cese of Chicago have walked with their parishioners in the streets and prayed

By PAT MARRIN

SAN ANTONIO . Sr. Mary McCauley, her sil-ver hair framing a classic Irish face,could easily seem a diminutive nun inher 70s looking at retirement after alifetime in the classroom or conventadministration. But circumstancesand, she would say, divine providenceput her at St. Bridget Church as pas-toral administrator in May 2008, whenhundreds of FBI and Immigration andCustoms Enforcement agentsswooped down on the tiny town ofPostville in northeastern Iowa toround up hundreds of undocumented— mostly Guatemalan — workers at akosher meat-processing plant. Alertedto the raid, McCauley put out theword to the workers and their fami-

lies, “Tell them to come to thechurch.”

For many, the Postville story hascome to exemplify the human tollexacted by a failed immigration poli-

cy and the challenge to churches torespond with courage and compas-sion on an issue of decisive impor-tance to our national identity — and

Continued on Page 13This

issue

was

mail

ed on

Jan.

28.

REPORTERNATIONAL

CATHOLICT H E I N D E P E N D E N T N E W S S O U R C E

www.NCRonline.org FEBRUARY 4, 2011 Vol. 47, No. 8 | $2.95

Immigration: ‘Tell them to come to the church’

By CHRISTINA S.N.

LEWIS

ONGATA RONGAI, KENYA . In thecool early morning hoursof Jan. 14, I was awak-ened by piercing screams.Again and again, thewomen screamed.

I did not know it then,but gunmen had brokeninto the complex of theEvangelizing Sisters ofMary, an African order ofCatholic sisters where Iwas spending the night.

When the men came to

her door and demandedmoney, Sr. Levina Ka-likwela grabbed a small,gold-veneered framedpicture of the VirginMary with the baby Je-sus.

“They entered and Iheld it,” the sister toldme the next day, stand-ing in her destroyed bed-room. “I said, ‘God,we’re finished.’ And Ijust held it like this.”She grasped the picturein both hands and held itover her head.

The men hit the pic-ture with their knife,breaking it, Kalikwelatold me.

“They were askingme,” said Kalikwela, hervoice cracking. “And Iwas telling them I haveno money. I have nomoney.”

That night the gunmenmurdered one of thecompound’s guards.While they did not physi-cally harm the sisters,they manhandled three,

Continued on Page 8

ANALYSIS

By MICHAEL SEAN WINTERS

The U.S. bishops releasedtwo letters to members ofCongress late last month thatoutline the “principles and pri-orities that guide the public pol-icy efforts” of the U.S. Confer-ence of Catholic Bishops.

The first letter, signed bythe newly installed confer-ence president, ArchbishopTimothy Dolan of New York,exhorts the lawmakers to pro-tect human life from concep-tion to natural death. “Ourprayers and hopes [are] thatthis newly elected Congresswill advance the commongood and defend the life anddignity of all, especially vul-nerable and poor personswhose needs are critical inthis time of difficult economicand policy choices.”

The letters were dated Jan.14 and released to the publicJan. 18.

Dolan pledges to “seek waysto work constructively withthe administration and thenew Congress and others ofgoodwill to pursue policieswhich respect the dignity of allhuman life and bring greaterjustice to our nation and peaceto our world.”

The second letter — signedby Cardinal Daniel DiNardoof Galveston-Houston, headof the pro-life committee;Bishop Stephen E. Blaire ofStockton, Calif., chairman ofthe justice and human devel-opment committee; andArchbishop José H. Gomez ofLos Angeles, chairman of themigration committee — dealt

Continued on Page 12

Letters outlineUS bishops’

policy priorities

—NCR photo/Christina S.N. Lewis

Anna Mary Henrietta Nyangoma, general superior of the Evangelizing Sisters of Mary inOngata Rongai, Kenya, turns away as policemen examine the corpse of a watchman slainon the convent’s grounds Jan. 14.

Sr. Mary McCauley, left,stands with immigrantsIsabel Ampora andthree of her fourchildren, who wereallowed to return toPostville, Iowa, Dec. 4,on a visa granted toworkers who werevictims of crimes at theAgriprocessors plant.

—Judy Callahan, BVM

AFRICA: A REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK

Sisters and thievesAttack highlights all too common African violence

SPECIAL SECTION

DEACONSLetter to newly ordained;new statistics on deaconsin US; and more PAGES 1a-8a

BISHOP RUIZ Champion of poor andindigenous in Chiapas,Mexico, dies at 86 PAGE 11

COLUMN

GUN CULTURE Guns are tools with a very limited use

in our worldPAGE 16

US NEWS

BEATIFYINGJOHN PAUL IITension between personalholiness, public actions PAGE 5

—CNS/Karen Callaway

Deacon Leroy Gill and Deacon John Cook lead participants in song during a prayer service in Chicago Aug. 21, 2010. Simulta-

neous back to school sunrise prayer services to pray for an end to violence, the protection of children, and a successful and

nonviolent school year were conducted at five Chicago beaches along the shores of Lake Michigan.

ited two African-American parishes, including one hit hard by the sexual abuse scandal.

The deacons group also hosts two annual prayer services focused on youth, including an ecumenical back-to-school sunrise service in the fall to pray for students’ safety during the school year. In the spring, students from Catholic schools gather for a Mass and barbecue, again to pray for safety during the coming summer.

“I’ve always felt the church wasn’t speaking out more on the violence in Chicago and the killing of young people,” Gill said. “All lives from the womb to the tomb are important, and that includes black children.”

Andrew Lyke, director of the Chica-go archdiocesan Office for Black Catho-lics, calls Gill “the conscience of the archdiocese” on the issue and praises the deacons group as leaders in their communities.

“They have their feet in both worlds: They’re part of the ecclesial hierarchy, but they’re also family people, have jobs and are connected with the com-munity,” Lyke said. “They have a voice that can be heard internally but also externally with the broader commu-nity.”

Gill, who owns a plumbing com-pany, works full-time, but organizes his work around his ministries. A deacon at St. Dorothy Parish on Chi-cago’s South Side, he heads up youth ministries there, as well as serving as campus minister at the Academy of St. Benedict the African in Chicago.

As a parent who has lost a child (in a car accident), he has a particular empa-thy for parents who have lost children to violence. Although the overall num-ber of murders decreased in Chicago in 2014, homicide is still the leading cause of death for young black men, according to researchers at Florida At-lantic University. Young black men are nearly six times more likely to die from homicide than are young white men.

“I have a concern with all these young black kids being murdered in the streets,” Gill said. “I can’t come to a meeting, have dinner and just talk about church. We need to be focused on this violence.”

The Black Catholic Deacons group supports men in various ministries. Deacon James Norman, a former vice president for Kraft Foods, works with homeless men and women and serves as coordinator for the National Shrine of St. Peregrine (patron saint of can-cer) on Chicago’s West Side.

“I had always envisioned that after seeking success, I would seek signifi-cance and service, and I saw that in the church,” Norman said. “Growing up on the West Side of Chicago, the people who really touched and impact-ed lives were ministers, like Martin Luther King, Jesse Jackson and oth-ers.”

While in flight on Sept. 11, 2001, he had time to consider the impact of his own life and decided to answer the call to the diaconate. In addition to his par-ish work, Norman serves on the Black Catholic Deacons’ steering committee, which also collaborates with a group of Latino deacons on a living wage, in-

carceration and violence issues.“The deacon’s role is as servant,

so everything we do is service to the Catholic church, Christians and all God’s children,” Norman said.

Although Chicago has the country’s largest group of black deacons, they are aging, and only one candidate is currently in the four-year diacon-ate preparation program. Lyke wor-ries that the process may not always be culturally sensitive to men in the African-American community. “We can’t be turning away good men who are trying to say yes to God,” he said.

Calling and supporting men as they pursue the path to diaconate ordination is another goal of the Black Catholic Deacons group. “I wish more men would consider it,” said Norman, who praises the other men he has worked with.

Gill added: “We all support each other. When one is down, we’re there to lift each other up.”

[Heidi Schlumpf is an NCR columnist and

teaches communication at Aurora University

outside Chicago.]

NATIONAL CATHOLIC REPORTER January 30-February 12, 2015

Celebrating 50 years of NCR

National Catholic Reporter connects Catholics to church, faith and the common good with

independent news, analysis and spiritual reflection. For more information, visit NCRonline.org.

—Catholic New World/Karen Callaway

From left, Cardinal Francis George, Deacon LeRoy Gill and Archbishop Blase Cupich pray over the gifts during Cupich’s installation Mass at Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago Nov. 18.