ST. LOUIS–He came with a twinkle in his eye.
The Rev. Cajetan Ngozika Ihewulezi, a Roman Catholic priest of the Holy Ghost Order, migrated from Nigeria to the United States in 2001 with the hope of finding the equality and freedom that he had read about as a child. Today, he is one of an estimated 200 Nigerian Catholic priests nationwide who have left family, friends and home parishes for a temporary stay among Catholics in the West.
Once in America, Ihewulezi found that only some of his preconceived notions proved true: He has made meaningful relationships with his host priests and the Catholics he’s served, while concurrently working toward a doctoral degree.
But in his chaplaincy role at a local hospital in St. Louis, Mo., the city he’s called home for the last six years, Ihewulezi has encountered Roman Catholics who refused his services in adminstering holy sacraments to their sickly bodies. The patients wanted a face they knew, an accent they understood, a skin color similar to their own.
Ihewulezi also found that his mostly black parish in north St. Louis is plagued by poverty and drugs and riddled with abandoned buildings; the white parts of town, by contrast, are thriving and safe.
Ihewulezi's new book, “Beyond the Color of Skin: Encounters with Religious and Racial Injustice in America,” is the story of one Nigerian man's encounters with the real America, glories and blemishes alike.
He writes, “My soul will not let me rest, as I have become a slave of my conscience. What I have found in my research and interviews and my experiences in this country has deeper meaning than my own comfort. So I take this chance and turn the results over to God.”
Read an excerpt from "Beyond the Color of Skin"
Print
Email
Bookmark
Comments
Laya, 2007-07-16 12:26:55 -- Flag for review
Wow, this made me cry! I am so glad to know someone is speaking up for all of us minorities, instead of brushing it under the rug!
Brilliant speaking, singing, and filming for this. I would like to see more!
Jackie, 2007-07-18 14:12:10 -- Flag for review
I am very interested in topics of this nature. I have encountered similar prejudices in Catholic churches even as a member of the parish.
Eri, 2007-07-18 14:26:11 -- Flag for review
I am pleased to see such great work dedicated to a topic which is close to my heart. Thank you.
Jackie Soltes, 2007-07-18 14:34:40 -- Flag for review
I think the article is very well researched and well written. I could understand the anguish of the priest. Very touching.
Emily, 2007-07-18 18:22:16 -- Flag for review
It is a sin for such a nice, soft spoken man of God to be treated with such prejudice.
Everyone should be happy that he has chosen to come here to serve them.
Sheryl Vassallo, 2007-07-18 18:37:00 -- Flag for review
It is a shame that when there is so much bad press about the catholic church, more people aren't embracing the true beauties that do exist within it! "Love our neighbors as we would ourselves" regardless of what country our neighbors were born in or what the color of their skin is! Great article which will spark great debate and conversation!
Shannon, 2007-07-18 18:44:58 -- Flag for review
Very heartfelt article. It captured the plight of this priest who is faced with a consistent, and seemingly unfair, struggle that he has faced since arriving in the United States.
Anne Marie, 2007-07-19 08:25:40 -- Flag for review
Not only does this wonderful priest physically resemble Dr. Martin Luther King, he faces many of the same prejudices Dr King did. How sad that some misguided souls cannot embrace the goodness and kindness this man of God has to offer.
Maryanne, 2007-07-20 06:27:19 -- Flag for review
How nice to see a story about a hard-working, loving priest in light of all the stories about priests' scandals. It is a shame that many are not able to look past their prejudices and see this man as an instrument of God.
ADIMCHINOBI HYACINTH AGBARAJI, 2007-11-10 09:07:35 -- Flag for review
I have had a good contact with Fr. Cjetan. He is truly great. He has come to tell us the truth face to face, especially, we- the religious, the priests. We sometimes enter into a religious politics which kills more than expected. I am a Victim.But I know God has sent Fr Cajetan to bring Hope for us-"the rejected".