BALTIMORE (MD)
Black Catholic Messenger [San Francisco CA]
August 13, 2025
By Dr. Paula Langford
Dr. Paula Langford on the devastation of Black Catholic Baltimore and how the Church must make amends to truly model a listening Church.
The closing of Black Catholic churches across the United States due to abuse scandals, restructuring programs (e.g., ”Seek the City to Come” in Baltimore), and financial payouts has left a deep wound in the hearts of many African-American Catholics. These closures are not just about the loss of sacred spaces. They represent the culmination of centuries of neglect, abuse, and systemic racism that Black Catholics have endured within the Church. The question must be asked: Have Black Catholics not endured enough?
Black Catholic faith and labor
The history of Black Catholics is marked by profound suffering and resilience. From the brutal enslavement of Africans by Portuguese and other European Catholics to the destruction of African families, cultural traditions, and spiritual practices, the victims were, in far too many cases, forcibly converted and dispersed around the globe. Stripped of their languages and rituals, they were expected to adopt a faith whose members treated them as subhuman.
In the Americas, enslaved Africans and their descendants built countless cathedrals, churches, rectories, and schools before emancipation—monuments to their own exclusion. Despite their contributions, Black Catholics were relegated to the back pews of churches, denied access to Catholic education even when they could afford it, and barred from the pulpit.
Unimaginable atrocities were committed against Black men, women, and children in the name of this faith. Enslaved Black women were raped by White Catholic men, Black bodies were lynched, and Black communities were terrorized, with the Church looking the other way or complicit in the violence. These injustices form the painful foundation upon which Black Catholics have practiced their faith—which has sustained them even when the institution of the Church failed them.
The scar of abuse and closures
The sex abuse scandals that later rocked the Catholic Church globally have had a disproportionate impact on Black Catholic communities. Already struggling under systemic neglect, many Black parishes have been shuttered as part of diocesan efforts to pay settlements to abuse survivors and their families. These closures devastate communities like Baltimore, where churches such as St. Pius V, St. Ann, and St. Peter Claver have stood as beacons of faith, hope, culture, and resilience for over 160 years.
The “Seek the City to Come” process in the Archdiocese of Baltimore, instead of prioritizing trauma-informed care or community engagement, made decisions that left Black Catholics once again feeling abandoned. This has only deepened the historic pain of the community. There has been no acknowledgment of the unique grief that comes with losing not just a building but a spiritual and cultural home.
Struggling for dignity and justice
Then-auxiliary bishop Bruce Lewandowski, CSsR of Baltimore urged Black Catholics to view their relationship with God as a “personal apocalypse,” or a positive collision that transforms. While his intentions may have been to inspire, the message fell flat for many Africans and African Americans. Have we not endured enough collisions?
Black Catholics have already weathered centuries of spiritual, emotional, and physical apocalypses at the hands of an institution that was supposed to shepherd and protect them. Collisions with the Portuguese Catholics who enslaved millions of Africans and White Southerners who maintained the institution and later instituted Jim Crow.
The question is not how Black Catholics can experience yet another transformation. It is rather how the Church will finally transform to acknowledge and atone for the harm it has caused. It could be a long time before the Church prioritizes racial justice, reparations, and true inclusivity. Until then, Black Catholics will continue to look not to the institution but to God for strength and guidance.
Healing through Umoja and community
As Black Catholics in Baltimore and beyond navigate this painful chapter, the call for unity is more urgent than ever. Healing must come from within the community, grounded in the principle of “Umoja” (unity). By rallying together, Black Catholics can reclaim their history, honor their ancestors, and build a future rooted in faith.
The strength of Black Catholic communities has always been in their unwavering trust in God and each other. It is through this trust that they will find healing and renewal. The next victory will not be in some distant heavenly reward, but here on earth in the restoration of dignity, the rebuilding of communities, and the realization of justice.
Black Catholics have endured. They will continue to endure. But it is time for them to thrive—not despite their faith, but because of their faith in a God who sees, hears, and delivers.
Dr. Paula S. Langford is a clinical social worker, neuroscience coach, and global mental health missionary. She earned a master’s and doctorate from Howard University School of Divinity. As a member of St. Ambrose Catholic Church in Baltimore, she blends Catholic spirituality with African traditions, neuroscience, and brain-body-based interventions to foster resilience, empowerment, and holistic well-being.