McCann right about racism

Dr. Rob McCann is correct; the Catholic Church is and was racist. I was born into a big Louisiana family of Roman Catholics. I attended St. Monica Catholic School and Church in New Orleans from 1st to 5th grades. The students at St. Monica were African Americans and our teachers were white nuns and priests.

My family moved to Metairie, (four miles from New Orleans) near the end of 5th grade. I attended Kenner ( a slaveholder) Elementary Public School from 6th to 8th grades. We attended Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church in Kenner, LA and had to sit in the back of the church. At St. Monica Catholic Church, we sat where we wanted and nothing was off-limits except the altar. In that first visit to Our Lady, I learned I did not have the same privileges as the white Catholics because of the color of my skin.

In 1838, the Maryland Jesuits sold 272 slaves to three plantations in Louisiana as a source of funding for Georgetown University. I descend from six of those Jesuit slaves. In November 2015, I formed the Butler Team, a group of genealogists who are members of EWGS, to assist me in researching my ancestors. Kip Hill wrote about our research in an article, “TRACING A LINEAGE, Spokane woman’s ancestors linked to Georgetown Jesuits,” on May 12, 2016. The Butler Team produced a PowerPoint about our research. I invite Bishop Daly to read the article and watch our PowerPoint for more information on the Catholic Church and slavery.

Patricia Bayonne-Johnson

Spokane