(Archbishop of Memphis, United States of America)
I speak in my own name and in the name of the many African American Catholics in the United States.
There is a connection between the Church in Africa and the African American Catholic Church. There is a renewed attention by African Americans for their African heritage. The interaction between past and present has become a central focus in the self understanding of African Americans. Of paramount importance to us are family life, African spirituality and the ancestors.
With the establishment of a Spanish settlement in Florida in the 1560's, black Spanish-speaking slaves formed part of the Catholic presence in territory that was to become part of the United States.
Africa's role in the establishment of the Catholic Church in the United States was fundamental and basic. From enslaved Catholics to two religious communities of African American religious women, the African influence on American Catholicism in the last century has been as penetrating as it has been unrecognised. At the end of the last century, black Catholics, meeting in the five Catholic Congresses, gave public witness to their pride in the Saints of Africa and their roots in the early African Church. Such declaration of solidarity with Africa was in keeping with the "back-to-Africa" movement of many influential African Americans in the second half of the 19th century.
This sense of unity with Africa on the part of American blacks continued sporadically through the 20th century, most notably with Marcus Garvey (who converted to Catholicism on his death-bed in London in 1940) and the organisation he established in New York City in the 1920s.
As a result of the civil rights movement, black Catholics began to rediscover their African roots as a community within the Catholic Church. Black Catholic Bishops and clergy began to tighten the bonds between African American Catholics and black African communities through mutual visits and exchanges. With the arrival of many African seminarians and clergy who are working in American parishes and studying in American seminaries, those bonds have become even tighter. Today the African American Catholic community, taking strength and inspiration from its African roots, has a profound solidarity with the Catholic Church in Africa.
Today, evidences of our African roots can be seen in liturgy, catechesis, and in the everyday lives of our people. Most importantly, our connections to Africa have inspired our young people, raised their self-esteem, and have given them a positive view of themselves and their rich cultural legacy.
The selection of an African American Bishop as a member of the Synod by our Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, signifies the importance of this gathering to the whole Church and, in a special way, to our African brothers and sisters now living in America.
Original
text: English
