The Catholic Church in the United States boasts 71 million members, 2.9 million of whom are black. Representatives from that vibrant community met in Orlando in July for the National Black Catholic Congress. The event concluded with the prophet Micah’s call to “act justly, love goodness and walk humbly with your God.”
At first encounter, Harmonia Rosales’s “The Creation of God” is striking. It is beautiful and familiar. Like Michelangelo’s “The Creation of Adam,” Rosales’s painting portrays the creation of humankind. However, the skin tones, gender and story being depicted by the artist are strikingly different.
"Sadly, I personally know black Catholics whose personal experience has led them to believe that their black lives do not really matter to the church."