The pews are awash with the many races that make
up the universal Catholic Church, a panorama of multi-cultural diversity. On
the altar, there is a uniformity of whiteness, with priests drawn in the main
from the continent of Europe. The distinction is striking and instructive.
The Church ofcourse is not the only institution
that fails to reflect the diversity of people on the ground amongst its
representatives. Take Parliament, where there are just 41 Black and Ethnic
Minority (BAME) MPs, some 76 short of the number required to reflect the
diversity of the population. Business is
even worse, with less than 2% of the directors of FTSE 150 companies being drawn
from a BAME background.
Public institutions, though, including the Church, have recognised the need
for more diversity amongst their leaders. This was acknowledged with the
publication of Lord William Macpherson’s report (1999), which defined institutional
racism as being “the collective failure of an organisation to provide an
appropriate and professional service to people because of their colour, culture
or ethnic origin.” At the time, the Catholic Bishops Conference of England and
Wales welcomed the definition, urging “Catholic organisations and institutions
to look again at how they could better serve minority ethnic communities in our
society.” However, 18 years on, progress appears to have been very slow,
certainly in terms of the clergy.
A survey of the diocese of England and Wales by
the Catholic Communications Network found many unaware of the number of BAME
priests. And, where the figures were available, BAME representation tended to
reflect migrant priests coming from abroad, rather than those who have come from
the communities in the UK.
So, Arundel and Brighton diocese has
four Polish parish priests plus another three as part of the Polish Chaplaincy
and three Italian priests (two as part of the Italian Chaplaincy). There were
also a Dutch, a Russian, an Indian and a Nigerian priest serving.
Of the 96 priests in Leeds
diocese, six are from a BAME background – two from India, three from Africa and
one Yorkshire born of mixed race.
Southwark diocese confirmed
23% of its priests were black, with another 10% from the Indian subcontinent.
The Middlesbrough diocese has “no BME priests actually incardinated
into the diocese but does have four priests from abroad - three from Nigeria
and one from India.”
One of the most surprising responses came from Brentwood, which
includes East London - one of the most diverse areas in the country. A
spokesperson for Brentwood diocese said: “I’m afraid I don’t have a record of whether a priest is black
or from an ethnic minority – the main concern is whether he can offer Mass,
hear confessions, etc., etc. and save souls. We
could do a survey, but it would take time.”
So why the lack of progress in terms of BAME
representation amongst the clergy?
Father Howard James, the first black Britain of
Caribbean descent to be ordained a priest back in 1991, does not believe a lot
has changed in the intervening years.
Father James doesn't think BAME men are drawn to
the priesthood because they do not see members of their community as priests. “Sometimes
as priests we are aloof from our people and we don’t encourage. Our Catholic
community is not always welcoming and many of our black men see more welcoming
family understanding in other faiths that they don’t see in the Catholic or
even Christian faith,” said Father James, who recalled in his own case that it
was involvement in Catholic youth movement in Jamaica and a number of youth
groups in the UK, that his faith grew and encouraged toward the priesthood. “So
that when the notion of priesthood came into my head and heart I was not scared
or afraid to put myself forward,” said Father James, who believes that the
schools are the place to start. “The Catholic sixth forms would be a place to
look. I would also suggest fourth and fifth forms as places to look. We should
encourage, especially in Catholic schools.”
Professor of religion and public policy at
Birmingham University Francis Davis believes the schools are key but also
emphasised that a strategy needed to be put in place to address the problems. “We
know from every other institution that if there is not a strategy put in place
to deal with the obstacles that those (BAME) communities face, then individuals
don’t come through from those communities,” said Davis, who contrasts the lack
of priority placed on the ethnic background of clergy with the approach of the
Catholic Education Service, which chronicles in much detail the ethnic background
of pupils.
The CES boasted in its 2016 census that: “Catholic
schools in both primary and secondary phases are considerably more ethnically
diverse than national school figures.”
Davis believes the fact that there are a high
level of BAME pupils in Catholic schools but they do not then go onto become
priests indicates a failing of formation and nurture on the part of the Church.
“The fact that they are not going on to seminaries, indicates that they do not
feel included,” said Davis
Oldham based priest Phil Summer believes that BAME
people still feel alienated, not seeing the Church as an institution of their
community. “We need to recognise identity much more in church, so when people
walk in they don’t feel it is some sort of European establishment,” said Father
Summer, who also believes this feeling resonates in the seminaries “If a young African Caribbean man was to
put himself forward to become a priest, the institutional life of our
seminaries would be such a culture shock as to make him feel as if he didn’t
belong.”
This view though is refuted by Father John Oakley, rector of St
Mary’s college, Oscott, who reports rising numbers of BAME applicants. Of 63 students at St Marys, 16
come from a BAME background (six Africans, six Filipinos and four Indians). “There
are signs that students are coming from the home communities,” said Father
Oakley.
The late chair of the Catholic Association for
Racial Justice Haynes Baptiste complained about the lack of a black bishop and
the negative signal that this sent out to BAME people. He certainly had a
point. Father Summer, though, is ambivalent about a BAME bishop, believing it
could be a good or bad thing. He recalls some BAME bishops appointed in the
Anglican Church having a tendency to denigrate their own background. On the
other hand, he says probably the most prominent black Archbishop John Sentamu of
York has done great work. “He has remained true to himself, a man of gravitas,
who brings something different to the Anglican community,” said Father
Summer.
A BAME bishop would certainly give the communities
someone to relate to, in a way that senior appointments in any public services
have a similar effect.
The question as to why the diversity of the pew
and school is not reflected in the clergy is an agenda that the CARJ has been
attempting to address since it was established back in 1983.
“The
persistent shortage of BAME priests in the Catholic Church in England and Wales
over recent decades, and the reiterated call for this problem to be addressed,
might prompt those in positions of responsibility, at all levels of the Church
(eg parents, teachers, volunteers, priests, bishops, etc) – to look again at
this important question,” said Richard Zipfel, a CARJ trustee. “Raising such a
question, however, should not become a judgmental exercise or an effort to cast
blame. Rather, it should remain rooted in a genuine concern for the
spiritual welfare of our Catholic community and the wider community that we
seek to serve.”
For the present there is still much to be done if
the ethnic gap between altar and pew is to be bridged. The suggestion that the
Church is institutionally racist is unproven, though most would agree that it
has not progressed as quickly as it might since the Macpherson report was
published at the turn of the century. What though does still need to happen, if
the altar is ever to really ethnically reflect the membership of the pews, is
for some definite structures and practices to be put in place that will lead to
BAME priests coming forward. Simply waiting for something to happen, ensures
only that the status quo is maintained and the white concentration of the
present clergy perpetuated.
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