Word: rodman
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...name which unified the concept and pushed it forward appeared with even less organization. "The reality was," Rodman said, "that in order to get this off the ground you had to have the backing of the hierarchy, as well as the politicians." That support materialized when Humberto Cardinal Medeiros and Bishop Edward G. Carroll, Fr. of the United Methodist Church in Boston, emerged from a meeting to face television cameras. When reporters asked about the fledgling ecumenical movement for improved race relations, the churchmen shook hands and began talking about a "Covenant." "After that happened [there was] a chaotic period...
...time the Covenant service took place on the Boston Common in November, the organization behind it had become primarily the business of Roman Catholics and the independent Black clergy, Rodman said. "The energy for it came from the Catholic Clergy in Charlestown. Decision making around the Covenant became exclusive--although it didn't start out to be," he said, adding that the grass-roots element was largely left out. "From the very beginning communications broke down," said Rodman, who was in the unusual position as a Black minister in a predominantly white, established church. Rodman indicated that the presence...
That is until it came to paying for the project. Approximately 200,000 "Covenant kits" including copies of the statement and olive branch lapel buttons were distributed to churches, temples, and community centers throughout the Boston area. In spite of donated materials and labor, Rodman said, the Covenant committee was some $40,000 in debt as of January 1980. "Then they started turning to the churches they hadn't paid much attention to," he said. The Episcopal Diocese did contribute $5000 to the effort, "but not without protest," Rodman said. (Although he did not disclose the extent of the debt...
...think a maliciousness is involved here," Rodman said, "but on the one hand you have the arrogance of the Roman Catholic Church and on the other the confusion of the Black protestant churches, wondering where to ally themselves. They chose to ally themselves with Roman Catholics instead of their Protestant brothers and sisters...
...approach the issues of the Covenant from a different perspective. "You could say that on one level, the problem in the city is between Black folks and Catholics," he said. "But to think that they're the only ones who have a stake in the city--that's ludicrous." Rodman believes the Covenant organizers have erred in limiting the concept to the city of Boston, but said they have done little to implement their ideals even within the city during another year marked by racial violence. "The general notion fizzled out," he said. "They didn't do anything this summer...