AREA DEATHS AND FUNERALS, B2
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 1988
Religion
B
¥OCUS ON RELK^ION
i^lack Catholics find
diverse faith eniightening
'I
.'5:
36 ROBIN BARKSDALE
60Nj^ronicle Staff Writer
Roman Catholicism rarely is mentioned in Afro-
$;merican religious circles - largely because, relatively
jpeaking, few Afro-Americans are Catholic. But
j.aiholicism is far from a foreign religion for blacks
j'ound the world. And the religion has strong and sig-
^ficant lies to the black population. But although the
IS^jmber of Afro-American Catholics is growing in this
juniry, Catholicism still is not viewed favorably by
any members of the more traditional Afro-American
5nominations who do not accept the practice of Afro-
H^mericans belonging to a "white church."
Afro-American Catholics argue that the charge
at they belong to a "white church" is incorrect and
photo by Mike Cunningham
>uiYnease Douthit studies one of the patterns
I the stain glass windows at St. Benedict the
I loor Catholic Church.
at much of the objection to the Catholic faith as a
hole stems simply from misconceptions.
\ "I don't go to a 'white church'. It’s not a white
urch or a black church. It’s a non-racial church," said
mease Douthit, a member of St. Benedict the Moor
atholic Church. "It’s a melting pot at my church. Race
not the issue.”
: Mrs. Douthit said she has been exposed to Catholi-
I sm every since she can remember. She attended
ndergarten and grade school at St. Benedict School,
hich closed in the late 1970s, and continued at a
““atholic school through high school. Although not
2 atholic during her school years, Mrs. Douthit said she
. jnverted to the religion in 1971. The CathoUc schools
g\ le attended had students from a variety of religions
H id ethnic backgrounds, and Mrs. Douthit said that
■ 'hile she noticed a difference in people, no big deal
J
was made of it. Growing up and attending Masses at
school with people of different colors had an impact on
her, she said.
"I think it's a very good experience for young peo
ple," said Mrs. Douthit. "It's good that people can come
together and worship and not think about their race."
St. Benedict the Moor Church, located on the cor
ner of 12th Street and Hattie Avenue, has occupied its
position in the heart of the Afro-American community
since 1940. At that time, the bishop of the diocese
determined that churches should be built in Afro-
American communities in the state to reach out to
black Catholics. From that declaration. Holy Cross
Church in Durham and St. Benedict's in Winston-
Salem were established.
In Winston-Salem, Mr. and Mrs. Hosea V. Price
organized a group of 10 other Afro-American Catholics
and laid the groundwork for the formation of the new
parish. The church was started under the auspices of
the Franciscan priests and remained that way until the
1960s. The Diocesan priests took over the ministry of
the church in the 1960s. Father Tom Gaunt, the current
pastor of the church, is St. Benedict's first Jesuit priest.
Soon after the opening of the church, St. Benedic
t's School was established and served children in
grades one through eight. St. Anne's Academy was the
"I don't go to a 'white church'. It's not
a white church or a black church. It's a
non-racial church. It's a melting pot at my
church. Race is not the issue."
—Arnease Douthit \
Catholic all-girls high school.
Father Gaunt said that from the beginning it was
intended that Sl Benedict's would service the growing
population of Afro-American Catholics in Winston-
Salem. He said that the church is named in honor of
Benedict the Moor, an African leader, who was canon
ized by the Roman Catholic Church in recognition of
the leadership and spiritual direction he offered.
He said also that, historically, blacks have made up
a large part of the Roman Catholic Church throughout
the world.
"The Roman Catholic Church is a diverse church
and there is a strong cultural diversity of the Catholic
Church," he said. "As a 'catholic' church the emphasis
is that it is a church of many different cultures and peo
ples. The vast majority of Catholics are Latin American
and African."
There are more than 50 million Catholics in the
United States: five to eight percent of them are Afro-
American. There are 12 Afro-American bishops within
the Catholic Church in America, the newest of which is
Archbishop Marino of Atlanta, who oversees the Char
lotte diocese.
Catholics recognize seven blessed sacraments:
baptism, the Eucharist, reconciliation (confession),
confirmation, marriage, the anointing of the sick and
orders (the priesthood). Father Gaunt said the emphasis
on sacraments is "one of the most distinctive parts of
the Catholic Church compared to other Christian
churches."
Roman Catholics recognize the Pope as the leader
photo by Mike Cunningham
Above, the interior of St. Benedict the Moor Catholic Church features all of the usual adornments
and symbolic representation of Catholic churches. Below, the church's pastor, Father Tom
Gaunt, dons the vestments Catholic priests wear for Masses.
of the bishops of the world. As leader of all bishops, our Christian heroes."
Pope John Paul II , the current pope, is united with
Catholics throughout the world. Father Gaunt said.
Because it is not what is considered a traditional
Afro-American denomination, Catholicism is a source
of much curiosity for many in the
Afro-American community. Mention
that you're Catholic and you're often
told, "oh yeah, you're the ones that
don't eat meat on Fridays" or "You're
the ones that worship those statues
and don't believe in God."
Such misconceptions are at the
same time puzzling and disappoint
ing to Afro-American Catholics.
"The biggest misconception I
hear all the time is that we worship
statues," Mrs. Douthit said. "It's the
same as having a portrait of your
loved one. It's symbolic and it's rep
resentative of the spirit of that per
son. I think people, who don't know,
see us kneel and it may seem that
we’re praying to idols or something."
Father Gaunt is baffled by some
of the notions other Christians have
about Catholicism. When pressed, he
is unable to point to any specific belief or practice of
the faith that would bring about the claims that
Catholics are not Christians or that they belong to some
strange cult.
"The one thing I think Protestants should under
stand is that we are not 'some other religion,’ we’re a
denomination of Christianity just like they are," said
Father Gaunt. "A lot of people don't understand our
statues or the designs on the windows. "It follows the
point that we believe in the communion of saints. The
emphasis on the saints is to make us aware of the
Christians who have gone before us and who have
lived their Christian life in a manner that should be an
inspiration to us. It's just a special way of remembering
Of
T I
Although the majority of its members in this coun
try are white, the Catholic Church has fallen victim to
much religious prejudice over the years. Father Gaunt
said much of that prejudice is a result of the fact that
people simply don't know a lot
about the faith. That kind of preju
dice, he calls "more of a small
annoyance than a big problem
anymore."
When large numbers of Pol
ish and Italian immigrants came to
America, they were seen as some
thing "different" and "unknown"
by the Anglo-Saxons in the coun
try. Most of the immigrants were
Roman Catholic, a relatively new
faith in the country at the time,
; I and all kinds of labels were
- I attached to the Catholic Church.
During the slavery years,
; Catholic slave owners were
C '■‘^^uired by the laws of their
^ church to baptize and instruct
I slaves in the Catholic faith and to
file photo recognize the Catholic sacrament
of marriage among slaves. Father
Gaunt said that not all of the plantation owners adhered
to the church's mandate, but that many of them did.
"They (slave owners) were obligated under church
law not to deal with slaves as their personal property
and remain in the church," he said. "Certainly not all of
them followed the church's instruction, but the church
did require it.”
While some of the stereotypes surrounding the
Catholic faith have died down. Father Gaunt said th^
there still exists a danger more threatening than mis
conceptions caused by a lack of knowledge: out and
out religious hatred. Many religious hate groups, he
Please see page B2
Father Gaunt
Back to Life Center offers community a second chance
By ROBIN BARKSDALE
Chronicle Staff Writer
Although it would be easy to wait for someone to handle things for
them, residents in the East 21st Street area wanted to take charge of
their own lives and to be responsible for bringing about changes in their
neighborhoods.
Enter the Back to Life Center, with a mission of giving residents of
the Afro-American community a second chance with their lives. The
center, which will hold its official grand opening ceremonies Sept 11,
operates on the belief that if neighbors help neighbors the community at
large will be better able to thrive. The Back to Life Center is the brain
child of Evangelist Lee Faye Mack, who said she established the center
to fill a need she saw for good old fashioned concern for one's neigh
bor.
"I could see the needs of the people. The Lord has given me the
vision," she said. "There is a need for a program of this kind to be here
in the cmnmunity."
The location of the center, right in the middle of the community it
serves, Mrs. Mack said, makes it even more beneficial as an outreach
agency. The center will provide services such as motivational seminars,
Bible study, after-school programs, the NAACP Learning Center pro
gram, and a food bank.
The center also will implement two relatively new programs. Life
Line^d Adopt A Family, Mrs. Mack said both programs are intended
to encourage the mwe advantaged members of the community to reach
out and lend a hand to those who are disadvantaged.
"Life Line is a program that allows famili^ to take a person who
' has been displaced and work with that person ot getting back into the
mainstream of life," Mrs. Mack said. "The family will be the bridge
back for a displaced person, and they'll be the instrument for giving
support during a displaced person's period of transition."
Lifeline is designed to combat what Mrs. Mack said is the popular
misconception that homeless people want to be in that condition.
The Back to Life Center has set up shop In the heart of the E.
21st Street area and Its organizers hope to have a significant
impact in the area.
"Everyone in the street doesn’t want to be there," she said. "They
fell into a situation over which they had no control."
Adopt A Family will work along the same principle, but will
encourage one family to "adopt" another and to spend time with that
family. The adoptive family, Mrs. Mack, said also will help out at
Thanksgiving, Christmas or whenever the adopted family is in crisis.
The Back to Life Center is different from other service centers in
that it is operated completely by volunteers from the East 21st Street
community. It has no large grants or funding resources. Mrs. Mack said
the center operates "from one day to the next on whatever our volun
teers and supporters can offer."
The house it currently occupies was a donation. Volunteers staff
the center during its hours of operation. But Mrs. Mack said that kind
of support is encouraging because it shows that people are there
because they believe in bettering their community and not because they
're being forced to pitch in and help.
"We're different because we don't gel a dime," she said. "It's run
completely by volunteers and gifts from the community. Someone gave
us this house and we came in and renovated it We painted, we cleaned.
But we need places that can offer jobs to the people that come in here
and learn how to work."
After living in her neighborhood for three years and seeing no real
progress, Edna Gerald was happy to lend her time to the Back to Life
Center.
"Basically, I volunteer here because I've lived in the community
and I've seen that there is a lot to be done," she said. "Money is always
spent but very seldom does that money filler out to the black communi
ty. If anything is going to change, I believe we are going to have to do
it ourselves. We can no longer rely on anyone else to do anything for
us. We've got to do it for ourselves."
Mrs. Mack said the benefits of the center may help the entire area
to progress. She said also that she hopes to be able to open similar cen
ters in other neighborhoods in the near future.
"It's one thing to plan programs for people, but it's another for
people to plan programs with you," she said. "We’re hoping this will
help unite the black community by encouraging pec^Ie to help them
selves."
The Back to Life Center is t^n for intake and referral and food
distribution from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Bible
study classes are held Tuesday nights from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. and Satur
days (after Sept 11) from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
The center will hold its grand opening ceremonies Sunday, Sept
11, at 4 p.m. at 927 E. 21st St