Appointed in May, consecrated in July, and now, only a few months later, he has already whipped out ye olde faithful Racism Card.
Like the good social justice warrior he is expected to be by the Synodal Church, Bishop Robert P. Boxie III has caused controversy by attributing the small number of African-American bishops to one blunt and not particularly well-thought-through explanation: “racism.”
Boxi is the youngest Catholic bishop in the United States at age 46. He was recently appointed auxiliary bishop of Washington D.C. His controversial remarks came during a recent interview with Catholic News Service’s Vatican Access.
When asked why so few African-Americans have been raised to the episcopate, Boxie replied, “the short answer is racism,” before adding: “People may not want to hear that. People may not agree with that. But the short answer is racism.”
During the interview, Boxie also said Black candidates were once excluded from seminaries and religious communities because of their race and argued that this had left lasting consequences. He also argued that diversity, equity, and inclusion are “Biblical” concepts but that they have been “hijacked.” Boxie further revealed that he encountered a Confederate flag in the room of a fellow seminarian while studying in Rome, while additionally claiming that COVID and the “summer of George Floyd … uncovered … disparities within our country.”
Forgetting that he is a priest serving Jesus Christ and not an activist in the mold of Martin Luther King Jr., Boxie then echoed DEI talking points. “We need the voice of African American bishops, men in the hierarchy, in the Church structure, to be more of an advocate for the Black Catholic community,” he said.
This is a remarkable comment because instead of calling on the Church to become an advocate for Jesus Christ in those communities, Boxie is making it sound as though he does not believe Catholic shepherds who are not Black can adequately care for the spiritual needs of “Black Catholic communities,” and that racial representation will somehow magically solve the needs in those communities.
Why so few black clergy?
By virtue of his episcopal consecration, Boxie’s primary qualification cannot be race or demographic representation, but his adherence to the Catholic faith, sound doctrine, holiness, prudence, and fitness to govern.
Statistics provided by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) complicate Boxie’s explanation. CARA has reported that Black Catholics account for roughly 5 percent of adult Catholics in the United States, while five of the 273 active bishops in 2026 currently are Black.
The Dispatch
More significantly, bishops must come from the priesthood, and among men ordained to the priesthood in 2025, only 6 percent identified as African, African-American, or Black, while the average proportion of Black ordinands over the preceding two decades was reportedly considerably lower.
Catholics speak out online
Traditional Catholic X user Mahound’s Paradise drew attention to the statistical reality of black clergy in a post last week Thursday.
“Boxie implies that he’s sort of the Sydney Poitier of American bishops,” he wryly remarked. In truth, Boxie is a “a DEI hire” and “a race grifter who is either ignorant about the historical and demographic facts … or is intentionally being more than a bit misleading or loose with the truth. The percentage of American Catholics who are black has been estimated at 2% – 5%. There are 440 living bishops in the United States, 14 of whom are black, which roughly tracks those numbers.”
On a podcast last Friday, Integrity Magazine contributor Christian Bergsma drew attention to the way in which Boxie presented himself for the interview with Vatican Access. Bergsma noted that his decision to wear sneakers instead of a more distinguished shoe is unbecoming and at odds with what bishops have worn throughout Church history. Other Catholics online made light of this as well, noting Boxie’s decision to wear “white” Nike sneakers instead of “black” ones.
Social media user Mîsâkan uploaded footage to his X account taken from a Zoom call that Boxie participated in several years ago. The meeting appears to be a meeting of Catholics speaking about race relations. When Boxie was given a chance to address the group, he invoked terms such as “reparation” and “the sin of racism,” while alluding to a 1968 document written by Black clergy in America that claimed the Church in the United States was a “white racist institution.”
In his new role, Boxie will work alongside Cardinal Robert McElroy, the current Archbishop of Washington. McElroy is one of the most outspoken liberal clergy in the United States, routinely pushing social justice causes and open borders messaging in conjunction with Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich and pro-LGBT New Jersey Cardinal Joseph Tobin.
Typical of the next generation of synodal prelates, Boxie seems to equate a healthy “inclusive” episcopate with racial proportionality while forgetting that the Church is catholic precisely because it transcends race and nation.
