By Ruby Thomas, Record Staff Writer
More than 400 who gathered for the Fourth Archdiocesan black Catholic Congress Dec. 9 heard from Cardinal Peter Turkson that in order to be just, one must respect a three-fold relationship with God, neighbor and creation.
The event took place at the Flaget Center, 1935 Lewiston Drive, and drew Catholics from 20 parishes in the Archdiocese of Louisville.
Cardinal Turkson, prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, celebrated the day’s opening Mass and presented the keynote address. During his address, he discussed Scripture, the meaning of justice and talked about crime in Louisville’s black communities.
“I am honored to be in your midst,” he said to an enthusiastic crowd that included mostly black Catholics. During his speech, Cardinal Turkson explored the prophecy in Isaiah chapter 61, which inspired the event’s theme — “The Spirit of the Lord is Upon Me: Act Justly, Love Goodness and Walk Humbly with Your God.”
That theme was also the subject of a talk Cardinal Turkson delivered in July to the 12th National Black Catholic Congress.
During the local gathering — organized by the Archdiocese of Louisville’s Office of Multicultural Ministry — the cardinal talked about what it means to “act justly” and “love goodness.”
To act justly means to “respect the demands of the relationship in which we live,” said Cardinal Turkson. That relationship, he noted, is three-fold — the relationship with God, neighbor and creation.
But respecting one’s relationship with God is the foundation — “no one can treat a neighbor justly when they do not treat God justly first,” said the cardinal. “When we respect that three-fold relationship, we are just,” he said.
Loving goodness, said Cardinal Turkson, relates to one’s relationship with God’s creation.
“If you want to love goodness, love what God has created in goodness. In the book of Genesis, everything God created was good,” said Cardinal Turkson.
At the pinnacle of God’s creation is the human person, he said.
“Loving the goodness of the human person is basic and crucial,” he said. The faithful do so in several movements, said the cardinal.
For example, there are pro-life groups, he said.
But that work “should not be limited to abortion,” he said. To be “really pro-life” one must advocate for life “in all its forms, in all its stages,” said Cardinal Turkson.
Noting that he’s aware of shootings in the local black community this year, he said the “Black Lives Matter” movement is a good movement. But “if it’s to be genuine, we ourselves must love that black life,” said the cardinal, drawing applause from his listeners.
The cardinal’s awareness of violence in Louisville’s black neighborhoods impressed some congress participants.
Emily Mosby, a member of St. Augustine Church in the West End, said she didn’t recall anyone in the church speaking that directly about the issue of “black on black crimes” locally.
“Even though he’s in Rome, he’s in tune with what’s going on around the world and in the Catholic Church,” said Mosby.
She agrees with the Black Lives Matter movement that “there’s a lack of respect for our lives.”
“If there was respect, we wouldn’t be destroying ourselves with drugs and crimes,” said Mosby, noting that the cardinal’s presence at the local black congress sends a message that blacks “have a place at the table of the church” both locally and universally.
Maureen Spalding and her sisters Pam Grundy and Maria Pasley said the cardinal’s message about justice moved them. The members of Holy Rosary Church in Springfield, Ky., discussed the significance of being just and living up to the demands of the “three-fold” relationship, the cardinal outlined.
“You have to get it all lined up,” said Pasley. “How hard is that life?” asked Spalding.
Grundy said, “It shouldn’t be, but we flunk every day.”
Pasley said most are guilty of not doing justice to their relationship with God.
“Do I love my creator? I do,” said Pasley, but added that she struggles with giving God the time he deserves.
Grundy added that sometimes she becomes “disheartened” and that makes it hard to pray. Spalding added that sometimes “just giving it all over to God is a form of prayer.”
The event also provided close to two dozen workshops, including “Recognizing Hope For Us,” presented by Spalding, Pasley and Grundy, and “St. Josephine Bakhita was a Victim of Human Trafficking,” presented by Ed Harpring, pro-life coordinator for the Archdiocese of Louisville.
The Archdiocesan Black Catholic Congress is held every other year and aims to provide an opportunity for the diverse community to experience what it means to be a faith-filled church from an Africentric perspective, according to the Office of Multicultural Ministry.
The event is an implementation of the National Black Catholic Pastoral Plan and the Archdiocese of Louisville’s Strategic Plan.
