D. F. Williams calls for affirmative action in the appointment of Cardinals

From our trusted correspondent in the sunny state of California comes this observation about an article encountered "in the Fishwrap this morning." The message, received in Morse Code, continues: "Aside from the obviously faulty ecclesiology, I see a tremendous whine in the article. For a thorough fisking?"

I may not be up for a thorough fisking, but I'm sure there are some in the audience who might have the time and relish the opportunity. Here's the article:

Heidi Schlumpf, "Where are the African-American cardinals?" (National Catholic Fishwrap, January 18, 2014), with the relevant excerpts (emphasis added by our correspondent):

When Pope Francis named 19 new cardinals Jan. 12, many Catholics cheered what seemed to be an emphasis on diversity, with half of the red hats going to bishops from non-European countries, including parts of the developing world.

But Dolores Foster Williams of Chicago was not exactly pleased.

"I didn't note any African-Americans on the list," said the 84-year-old Williams, who has made eradicating racism in the church her life's work.

A retired teacher and the author of Institutional Racism in the Catholic Church, Williams sees the lack of an African-American cardinal as the "undeniable tip of the church racism iceberg."

"The cardinals are the ones who elect the pope, so we have no representation there. Why aren't we at the table?" The answer, she says, is blatant racism and nepotism.

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"Caucasian priests who became cardinals were trained either in Diocesan seminaries or Order seminaries, and their upward progressions appear to have been fostered by influential individuals within those domains," Williams wrote on her blog in September.

And the elevation of African cardinals, while important, doesn't count, she says: "Africans and African-Americans are culturally different."

Personally, I can't wait until these well-intentioned souls start calling for Buddhist and Sufi representation in the College of Cardinals. The ideal as the "I'm-OK-You're-Ok-Democratic-Church-of-Nice," wasn't it called?

Update: But wait, there's more! On November 2004, Fr. Dear [sic.] spoke at the Call to Action National Conference in Milwaukee, and posted on his own website:

“I think we need to start a…letter writing campaign to the Vatican, to get one million loving, kind, respectful letters calling for change, for the complete rejection of the just war theory, for more work for justice and peace, and for the ordination of women and married priests.”

WhOOOooo-yeah! 1969 F-O-R-E-V-E-R, baby. Oh, be-HAAAve!!!

[Hat tip to C.G.Z.]