Milwaukee priest: The Catholic Church is racist

Our Lady of Africa

MILWAUKEE — The title of the book – “Racial Justice and the Catholic Church” – might make Catholics cringe, might even make them uncomfortable. The author, Fr. Bryan N. Massingale, knows that, but he also hopes readers and potential readers will move beyond that.

“Yes, there are some difficult things that are said, and some painful truths being articulated, but I hope people can understand that they’re being said out of a deep love for the church, a love for our tradition, and a love for who we can and ought to be,” he said. “I would hope that readers would hear the painful truth, but (know) that it is spoken in love.”

I'm reminded of the story of Fr. Augustine Tolton, whom is being investigated for sainthood(and who served in Chicago for a time).   It's a serious accusation though.  Let's look to the very bottom of the article where something concrete is finally articulated.

What would a racially reconciled or racially just church look like and do for Fr. Massingale? The priest provided a litany of answers about the church he would like to see 20-30 years from now:

• “I would hope that the leadership of the Catholic Church would better reflect its demographics.”

• “I would hope that our worship would reflect a greater comfort and ease with cultural diversity, that we wouldn’t hear complaints of, ‘Why do we need to sing in Spanish?’ and ‘We don’t have any of “them” here.’ We’d realize that we are all brothers and sisters and that we’re a catholic church and that we’d be proud to pray in Catholic ways that are universal.”

• “… a church where a concern for the immigrant would not be seen solely as a political hot potato, but that we would see a concern for immigration as obviously flowing from our faith – faith in that Jesus called us to welcome the stranger.”

 Milwaukee Catholic Herald

Well... it seems this is just another liberal Marquette professor inserting politics into religion.  Accusing the church of racism over .... immigration?  The first point could be valid, but I haven't looked at the numbers.  But immigration?  Something the USCCB has taken such a liberal approach to?  Was the MCH afraid to push back on this one and ask for something more concrete?  I'd love to discuss the issue but ...... not singing in Spanish?????  I honestly wondered if this was a joke at first.  The Church is racist and supports racism because we are not singing in Spanish when there is no one that speaks Spanish in the area??  So the universal language of the Church's liturgy is Spanish?  I must have missed that encyclical. 

Can someone shed some light on this?  Am I missing something here?

Update(HT Kat): Surprise, surprise, it seems Fr. Massingale has gone so far as to publicly oppose his own bishop on gay "marriage."