Fr. Jim's Jots - Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, February 13, 2022

 Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

February 13, 2022

Fr. Jim's Jots

A remembrance of Black History Month

Pope Francis has tapped Bishop Shelton Fabre as the new Archbishop of Louisville, Kentucky, where he will become only the second African American Archbishop in the U.S.  In 2013, Fabre was appointed as Bishop of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux in Louisiana after serving as an auxiliary bishop of New Orleans since 2006.  A native of Louisiana, he was ordained a priest of the Baton Rouge Diocese in 1989 after receiving both bachelor's and master's degrees in religious studies from Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium.  In 2020, the Catholic social justice organization Call to Action gave Fabre high marks as a part of its anti-racism initiative.

I believe the appointment of Bishop Fabre as the Archbishop Elect of Louisville is a direct message from the Vatican to support Black Catholics in America and to send a strong message to the United States to work together as a people for good and to confront the grave sin of racism.  The United States is changing and the once white majority is now changing.  How we as a people accept and work together in this new reality will determine the future of our American experience.  I pray that the Catholic Church will be a beacon of Hope during the new reality to help all peoples of good will to acknowledge the sin of racism.  The road is rough and the going is tough, but may we sing and pray "We Shall Overcome".

+ Blessings for the New Year +

Fr. Jim

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