Los Angeles Latino, African-American Catholics work to heal tensions

Published: 2004-06-17

LOS ANGELES (CNS) -- Over the past decade Marian Fussey has seen her parish, Transfiguration in Los Angeles, shift from having a majority of African-American parishioners to a heavily Latino membership. For some, the change has been challenging, but it also reflects changing demographics occurring in parishes all over Los Angeles that are being addressed by the local church to bridge gaps that have separated these groups. In 1996, Building Bridges Black and Brown, a group of African-American and Latino Catholic leaders in Los Angeles, began meeting to address issues that surfaced as a result of Hispanic movement into some of the traditionally African-American parishes. "For decades African-Americans had maintained these parishes," noted Louis Velasquez, co-founder of the leaders' group and special projects coordinator in the Los Angeles archdiocesan vicar for clergy's office. "We're trying to help Latinos understand the sense of sadness African-Americans felt that many people were not aware of this beautiful history" of the parish, he told The Tidings, newspaper of the Los Angeles Archdiocese. "Tensions occurred here because there was a different culture and different language, but we want people to first remember that we are all Catholics."

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