This Day in History: 1989-07-02

Reverend George A. Stallings, Jr., a black Roman Catholic priest, defied the orders of his archbishop and established an independent African-American Catholic congregation in Washington, D.C. Stallings argued that he wasn’t setting up a schismatic church and instead was simply trying to create a mode of worship that was sensitive to the needs of black Catholics. Despite this, he would later declare that his Imani Temple was “no longer under Rome” and would permit things like abortion, divorce, and the ordination of women. This, according to the Vatican, automatically excommunicated Stallings.