Articles and Videos

  • Toward a Catholic Understanding of the Phrase "Black Lives Matter"

    It is a curious thing that the cry “Black Lives Matter” is met with so much opposition and misunderstanding outside of African American communities. This cry means many different things to different people, but it is grounded in reality and in a specific and concrete history and in contemporary social experiences. These should not be misinterpreted or misunderstood. Read more...

  • Catholic Social Teachings and African AMerican Communities

    Reflection given by Fr. Matthew Hawkins at St. Benedict the Moor Parish, Pittsburgh, PA on August 29, 2020, the occasion of the Juneteenth Celebration, 2020.  Read more...

  • Ministry to African Americans

    Article by Rev. Matthew Hawkins... Few Black Americans are Catholic, and few American Catholics are Black. No one should be satisfied with this. Members of all parishes, not only those with a large percentage of African Americans, should reflect on how this came to be and why it persists. It can’t be dismissed as “just the way things are.”  Read more...