Church Life Today

Black Catholics and Catholic Social Teaching, with Deacon James SummersWhy do so many Black Catholics leave the Church and why do so few new members enter the Church? This is the twofold question that Deacon James Summers along with his wife Wendy and others sought to understand when they were appointed to the Black Catholic Advisory Board for the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend. The answer redounds to his own experience as a Black Catholic in the Church, and to his approach to and appreciation for Catholic Social Teaching. Today Deacon James talks with me about the Lord’s call to seek to understand, empathize with, and actively love one another. Follow-up Resources: “The Ark and the Dove, with Edward Herrera,” podcast episode via Church Life Today“The Embodied Holiness of Sr. Thea Bowman, with Kayla August,” podcast episode via Church Life Today“Black Live and the Preferential Option for the Poor,” by John Cavadini, essay at Church Life Journal"Hope Stories with Black Catholics with Sr. Josephine Garre