Cardinal Suspends Black Priest Over Separatist Congregation

Roman Catholic Cardinal James A. Hickey has suspended the priest who established an unsanctioned African-American Catholic congregation, a spokeswoman for the Washington archdiocese said Tuesday.

Father George A. Stallings was notified by registered letter of Hickey’s decision, said spokeswoman Eileen Marks. Stallings is forbidden to preach, celebrate Mass or administer any of the Roman Catholic Church’s sacraments including baptism, weddings or Holy Communion, she said.

Stallings, 41, said Tuesday that Hickey’s action would not deter him from going forward with the Imani Temple, inside or outside the official church.

“I do not recognize his jurisdiction to determine who we are and what we are,” Stallings said. Stallings has said that he founded the church because the Catholic Church has moved too slowly to respond to the cultural and spiritual needs of black parishioners.

Stallings had brought the simmering issue to a boil by celebrating a formal worship ceremony at his Imani Temple, in the chapel of a Washington law school, last Sunday.

Marks said Hickey’s letter called the service Stallings conducted Sunday “a public act of disobedience.” Hickey, who is the head of the archdiocese, declared that establishment of Stallings’ separate group was “a step toward separating yourself from the unity of the Catholic church.”

Hickey was leaving channels open for any possible dialogue with Stallings despite the suspension, the spokeswoman said.

The letter from the cardinal said the decision was made in part to help Stallings turn away from a course of action that Hickey said was “destructive.”

Sunday’s ceremony was attended by about 500 people and included traditional Catholic prayers and liturgy, along with elements borrowed from African and Southern black revival traditions. Black representatives of other faiths, including Baptists and Muslims, attended to show support for Stallings’ move.

Stallings, who has been on a collision course with church officials since announcing his separate congregation last month, said Sunday: “The church can’t throw me out, and even if they do throw me out, I have my own opinion . . . they have theirs.”