Black worshippers feel under-represented in the Catholic Church

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Some Black worshippers feel under-represented in the Catholic Church and that it needs to do more to overcome its legacy of racism, they said, after Pope Francis spent recent days telling crowds in Lisbon the Church has room for everyone.

Francis, who has been working to promote inclusivity since the start of his papacy, arrived on Aug. 2 in Lisbon to attend the world's largest gathering of young Catholics from Aug. 1-6.

"When the pope said (the Church was for) 'everyone, everyone, everyone' ...we felt the impact... but we want more than words," said Adani, a Black transgender woman from Brazil who crossed the Atlantic to attend.

The 27-year-old was part of a group representing Afro-Brazilians, descendants of enslaved Africans - known as quilombolas in the South American nation - and indigenous people that joined hundreds of thousands of Catholics from all over the world in the Portuguese capital.

SOURCE

The Catholic Church never seemed very welcoming to black followers. I noticed this when I was growing up. Brushing it off with words doesn't erase the history that has been in place of discriminating against black Catholics. It seems to be more of an issue in Europe than in the US as followers of the bible in the US whom are black tend to be Christians, not Catholics.