PLAY PODCASTS
The importance of personal parishes for Black Catholics

The importance of personal parishes for Black Catholics

The Gloria Purvis Podcast

November 22, 202228m 38s

Audio is streamed directly from the publisher (traffic.megaphone.fm) as published in their RSS feed. Play Podcasts does not host this file. Rights-holders can request removal through the copyright & takedown page.

Show Notes

This week on “The Gloria Purvis Podcast,” Gloria speaks with the Rev. Thomas Burke, the pastor of St. Benedict the Moor Catholic Church in Pittsburgh, Pa., about the importance of establishing personal parishes for Black Catholics. 

When Bishop David Zubik first announced this personal parish there was a negative response from some white Catholics, who didn’t understand the need for a liturgy and community that reflected the unique cultural legacy of Black Catholics. 

To those critical of the parish, Father Burke says: “Go check it out and see why it’s Catholic. It’s not so much going on the bandwagon of wokeness, of separating the Blacks from the whites in creating a personal parish.” 

Instead, it is about recognizing the richness that Black Catholics bring to the liturgy, he adds “the atmosphere, the welcomingness, the music, the family aspect of it and to celebrate the culture, I think is a learning lesson.”

Please consider supporting this podcast by becoming a digital subscriber to America Media.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices