THE PASTORAL PLAN OF ACTION – APPROVED BY THE PARTICIPANTS IN THE NATIONAL BLACK CATHOLIC CONGRESS IX~2000

THE PASTORAL PLAN OF ACTION – APPROVED BY THE PARTICIPANTS IN THE NATIONAL BLACK CATHOLIC CONGRESS IX~2002

EIGHT PRINCIPLES

This Plan includes issues which most profoundly impact African American Catholics and the African Americans. It is a road towards creation of strategies of empowerment, renewal and transformation of individuals and the entire community. The Principles express the hope and confidence of African American Catholics endowed with gifts and talents which enable them to come to full stature in Christ, in the Church and in society. The Pastoral Plan was seen as a dynamic process which provides for additional elements according to the needs, but consistent with the spirit and vision of the Chicago 2002 Congress assembly. It was intended that this would enable the community to expand outside of itself in outreach to others. The Eight Principles: Spirituality, Parish Life, Catholic Education, Youth and Young Adults, Social Justice, Africa, Racism, HIV/AIDS.

SPIRITUALITY.

African American Catholic spirituality is rooted in the church’s teachings and tradition as well as Sacred Scripture.
This spirituality finds its fruit in recognition of the need for sound catechesis and teaching. This in turn leads toward reaching out to others in a spirit of evangelization.
The community brings the process of evangelization, with efforts to evangelize itself toward renewal and conversion.
Evangelization is at the heart of the Christian witness and takes on an additional urgency considering the plight of millions of African Americans who remain un-evangelized.
African American Catholic spirituality, properly enriched by cultural symbols, rituals and language, empowers the individual and the community to assume the responsibility of evangelizing those who do not know Christ, so that they may live in the freedom of the sons and daughters of God.

PARISH LIFE.

A fully developed parish recognizes and values the gifts and talents of all, providing opportunities for leadership and use of those gifts and talents to build up the kingdom of God.
In an attempt to achieve these goals the parish is empowered to become an instrument of change and development in the community which it serves.
Parish life finds its fullest expression when it is willing to transform the community sharing with the community the power of transformation which it has received.
A process of transformation entails involvement in community affairs, advocacy for those who have no voice, outreach to the poor and dispossessed, addressing issues of poverty and injustice and the invitation to share the faith.

CATHOLIC EDUCATION.

Long considered an effective means of evangelization and preservation of the faith in the African American community, Catholic schools strive with community support, to create and expand religiously sound and academically effective Catholic primary and secondary schools.
The school is another means of addressing issues of injustice and poverty. Historically, it is through sound education that African Americans have been lifted out of poverty and inequality, the church must strive to continue to provide this service to the community.

YOUTH AND YOUNG ADULTS.

Transmission of the faith and values to the next generation of youth and young adults represents one of the most significant challenges of our time.
Yet, there is among the young a hunger for spirituality and meaning in an increasingly unstable and complex world.
The community is called to explore means of making the faith meaningful and engaging to the youth and young adults of our day. Every effort must be made to include them in all aspects of parish life with due respect for their age and experience.

SOCIAL JUSTICE.

The well developed tradition of Catholic Social Teaching provides a basis for addressing the many challenges which face African Americans.
Catholic Social Teaching provides a framework which combines the elements of the biblical and ecclesial traditions providing the language which respects and defends human life and human dignity.
This tradition recognizes that all human life is sacred and made in the image and likeness of God; that human life must be protected and defended from the moment of conception to natural death; that the defense of human life carries with it a greater priority than other efforts. Human life demands a respect for human dignity, which includes the fundamental right to decent housing, employment, adequate health care and education of the young.

AFRICA.

African Americans have a special historical, racial and cultural bond with the continent of Africa.
Africa represents the fastest growing geographical area in the Church in the world.
While the Church continues to expand in Africa, it faces enormous challenges of poverty, disease, and violence as it seeks to fulfill its pastoral mission.
African Americans recognize the importance of Africa to the Church and its future. They acknowledge that the Church in America must come to the aid of the pastoral needs of the Church in that region of the world as it historically has done with other areas of the world.
Issues relating to racial and ethnic identity, self awareness, and self affirmation will only be resolved when a meaningful and mature bond with Africa is established.
Lingering negative effects of slavery and racial discrimination can only be addressed in a context of a full recognition of the link and affective bond with the African past.

RACISM.

The effects of racism continue to surface in our society. Recent events relating to the effects of devastation on the Gulf Coast expose the deep wounds and fissures which an extended legacy of racial discrimination has produced.
Lingering effects of racism on family life and children are evident in every community in America. The inability of many African Americans to establish and maintain healthy marriages, the need for stable family life and prevailing internal violence are attributed to the legacy of slavery and racism.
In addition, the criminal justice system which unfairly targets African Americans with the increasing and disproportionate application of the death penalty, longer prison terms and bias found in sentencing practices reflect the racism that permeates that system.
Many African Americans attribute unequal funding of schools, admissions to higher education, and the failure of many predominantly African American schools to have an effect on racist policies at the state and local levels.

HIV/AIDS.

HIV/AIDS is disproportionately found among African American men and women in the United States and in Africa, where many countries face serious societal and economic disruption because of the prevalence of this disease among the most productive age groups.
The Church is called to continue to be a caregiver to those suffering from AIDS and advocate for greater involvement of policy makers in the eradication of this disease and must bring moral pressure to the private sector to make medicines available to persons in critical need.

REFLECTION DAY DISCUSSION TOPICS AND ISSUES

FLOWING FROM THE PLAN AND PRINCIPLES