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Woebeit I have been literally forced to delve into my almost depleted deep well of theological knowledge to deal with the persistent rebuttals evoked by a couple of religious based front page features, i.e., “Jesus’ Star power: Are Black preachers pimping God?” (Feb. 16-27, 2005) and “2005 EASTER EDITION: Can a Black Jesus be resurrected?” (March 21-29, 2005). But I got a break this week when Rev. Fred Sanders III (pastor of Cliffdale BC, 854 Enterprise), called and only wanted an intelligent conversation about our different perspectives of Christianity.
Nevertheless, Roy Douglas Malonson’s April 13-19, Publish-er’s News Analysis (“How powerful are Popes?), was attacked so viciously until I was offended myself. Frankly, Roy wasn’t the least bit disturbed (to not only have his faith, Black perspective, content of his character, and even his skin color disparaged), thus be assured that this is strictly Bud’s Eyeview. Then again, it also allows Afri-can-American News & Issues to publish a Black perspective of Catholicism. Truthfully, all of the Catholic kids I knew in Da’ Nickel were a lot nicer than the other 5th Ward hooks that forced me to beat the hell out of them. In addition, I once thought of becoming a Catholic. Hey, I loved Father Sullivan (a White priest) almost as much as I loved Our Mother of Mercy’s concrete full basketball court and goals that always had strings on them.
Square business, I played on Mercy’s team with Sydney Chevalier and Murphy Jones (or Porter?), whose mom worked at Zarzanas. I was also tight with the Brooks clan, e.g., Janice, who was Mercy’s greatest girl basketball player ever. Lest I forget, her big brother James became Houston’s first Black priest. Decades later I worked with J. Harold Brooks, at the Houston Legal Foundation. Hello Earl Lester “Pinky” Scott. Even more ironic, I met Emmit Hill at Mercy, who I later played with at Aldine Carver. Oh? You didn’t know that Mercy once had a football team? Well it did, and Emmit played for them on the same field that our prairie football team (the Benson Street Bears) claimed as our home turf. Okay, that’s enough history to validate my Catholic connection. If, however, you know your Black Houston’s history, you know that Emmit went on to play on TSU’s 1952 National Championship football team and later served as president of Aldine ISD’s School Board. Oh, by the way, did you know that my little brother Rep. Harold V. Dutton, Jr. is a Catholic? Oh yeah, my son’s boss at Ross Mortuary, Ed Loche, is also a devout Catholic, thus I have a legitimate gripe when I hear misguided brothers and sisters diss their church’s rituals. I won’t waste time trying to explain all of the rites, but I will give you brothers who declare “I ain’t telling my business to no White man,” a little insight into the Confessional and Last Rites processes (FYI: The manifestation of one's own actual sins, committed after Baptism. Priest, in order to obtain their forgiveness in the Sacrament of Penance. Confession was constituted an essential part of this sacrament by Christ Himself, when He said: "Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained" (John, 20). By these words Christ established the Sacrament of Penance as a judicial process, and its ministers, the Apostles and their successors, as judges, with the right and the duty to pass judgment on those who have sinned after Baptism. Now, in order to perform this office properly, a priest must have a knowledge of the penitent's transgressions, which can be obtained only from a sincere confession of the penitent himself. The Catholic Encyclopedia.) The Last Rites began as a ritual of healing in the Catholic Church, but the emphasis shifted over time to forgiving the sins of a dying person as preparation for going to heaven. The church has tried to return to the original meaning of the sacrament by emphasizing that it is not only for those who are close to death, but for anyone who is ill and by calling it the Anointing of the Sick or the Sacrament of Anointing. The Catholic Encyclopedia says the sacrament was instituted by Christ to give spiritual aid and comfort to the seriously ill.) Verily, verily I say unto you my brothers and sisters, you can now diss the Catholic Church intelligently. Then again, you should open mind like me, embrace all religions and cover all bets, because life ain’t nothing but a crapshoot. In fact, I might’ve been a Muslim, if I hadn’t loved pork chops so much. I wonder if anybody knows where I’m coming from?