George Augustus Stallings Jr. (born March 17, 1948) is the founder of the

Imani Temple African-American Catholic Congregation The African-American Catholic Congregation and its Imani Temples are a Christian denomination founded in 1989 by the Reverend George Augustus Stallings, Jr., a former American Catholic priest based in Washington, DC. History George Augustus Stal ...

and was long active in the

Black Catholic Movement The Black Catholic Movement (or Black Catholic Revolution) was a movement of African-American Catholics in the United States that developed and shaped modern Black Catholicism. From roughly 1968 to the mid-1990s, Black Catholicism would transfor ...

. He served as a

Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the Holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in layman's terms ''priest'' refers only ...

from 1974 to 1989, and was based in Washington, DC, for many years. He established the Imani Temple as an independent denomination in 1989, making a public break in 1990 with the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

on ''

The Phil Donahue Show ''The Phil Donahue Show'', also known as ''Donahue'', is an American television talk show hosted by Phil Donahue that ran for 26 years on national television. Its run was preceded by three years of local broadcast on WLWD in Dayton, Ohio, and i ...

''. The

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excommunicated Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...

him that year.

Early life and priestly ministry

Stallings was born in 1948 in

New Bern, North Carolina New Bern, formerly called Newbern, is a city in Craven County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 29,524, which had risen to an estimated 29,994 as of 2019. It is the county seat of Craven County and t ...

, to George Augustus Stallings Sr., and Dorothy Smith. His grandmother, Bessie Taylor, introduced him as a boy to worship in a black Baptist church. He enjoyed the service so much that he said he wanted to be a minister. During his high school years, he began expressing "Afrocentric" sentiments, insisting on his right to wear a mustache, despite school rules, as a reflection of black identity. To prepare for the priesthood, he attended St. Pius X Seminary in Kentucky and received a BA degree in philosophy in 1970. Sent by his bishop to the

Pontifical North American College The Pontifical North American College (NAC) is a Catholic Church, Roman Catholic educational institution in Rome, Italy, that prepares seminarians to become priests in the United States and elsewhere. The NAC also provides a residence for Pri ...

in Rome, he earned three degrees from the

Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas A pontifical ( la, pontificale) is a Christian liturgical book containing the Christian liturgy, liturgies that only a bishop may perform. Among the liturgies are those of the ordinal (liturgy), ordinal for the ordination and consecration of dea ...

between 1970 and 1975: the

Bachelor of Sacred Theology The Baccalaureate in Sacred Theology ( la, Sacrae Theologiae Baccalaureus; abbreviated STB), not to be confused with a Bachelor of Arts in Theology, is the first of three ecclesiastical degrees in theology (the second being the Licentiate in Sacred ...

(S.T.B.), a master's degree in pastoral theology, and a

Licentiate of Sacred Theology Licentiate in Sacred Theology ( la, Sacrae Theologiae Licentiatus; abbreviated STL) is the second of three ecclesiastical degrees in theology (the first being the Baccalaureate in Sacred Theology and the third being the Doctorate in Sacred Theol ...

(S.T.L.). Stallings was ordained a priest in 1974. His first assignment was as an associate pastor at Our Lady of Peace Church, Washington, D.C. In 1976, at the age of 28 and two years after ordination, he was named a pastor of St. Teresa of Avila parish in Washington. He was the pastor of this church for 14 years. During Stallings' pastorate, the parish become known for its integration of African-American culture and gospel music in the Mass. He was active in the

and promoted the integration of African-American culture into Catholicism. In 1985, Stallings secretly bought a private home in Anacostia in violation of the archdiocese rule requiring priests to live in the parish rectory. ''

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'' reported that Stallings had allegedly misused parish funds to renovate his Anacostia house. In 1988, he was transferred to a new position as a diocesan evangelist.

Departure and excommunication from the Catholic Church

In the late 1980s, Stallings made numerous appearances in the news media. He was interviewed on ''

The Oprah Winfrey Show ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', often referred to as ''The Oprah Show'' or simply ''Oprah'', is an American daytime broadcast syndication, syndicated talk show that aired nationally for 25 seasons from September 8, 1986, to May 25, 2011, in Chicag ...

'', ''

Larry King Live ''Larry King Live'' was an American television talk show hosted by Larry King on CNN from 1985 to 2010. It was the channel's most watched and longest-running program, with over one million viewers nightly. Mainly aired from CNN's Los Angeles s ...

'', ''

'' and ''

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''. In January 1990, Stallings announced on ''The Phil Donahue Show'' that he was breaking with papal authority and giving up Catholic teaching on

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...

contraception Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent unwanted pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth contr ...

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...

, and

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...

. Stallings announced he was leaving to found a new ministry, the

. He stated that he left because the Catholic Church did not serve the African-American community or recognize talent. Thirteen days prior, Archbishop James Hickey of

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

ordered him to seek psychiatric treatment, following incidents of insubordination, allegations of sexual abuse of children and homosexual relationships. Additionally, Hickey saw Stallings's lifestyle as extravagant and possibly funded by donations to the church. Following the founding of Imani Temple, Hickey excommunicated Stallings and any Catholics remaining in the Imani Temple movement. Stallings was consecreated a bishop in May 1990 by Richard Bridges, a bishop of the Independent Old Catholic Church (not in communion with the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

). In 1991, Bridges's group conferred upon Stallings the title of archbishop.

Accusations of sexual misconduct

In 1989, ''

'' reported that a former altar boy at St. Teresa of Avila Church accused Stallings of sexual misconduct over a period of several months in 1977. Stallings said "I am innocent", declining to answer questions. In a follow-up series of three articles in 1990, ''Post'' reporters

Bill Dedman Bill Dedman (born 1960) is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American journalist, an investigative reporter for ''Newsday'', and co-author of the biography of reclusive heiress Huguette Clark, '' Empty Mansions: The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and ...

and Laura Sessions Stepp reported that concerns about Stallings' association with teenage boys had contributed to his split from the Roman Catholic Church. Stallings's former pastoral assistant, who was 22 at the time, spoke publicly about having a two-year sexual relationship with him. In 2009 the archdiocese reached a $125,000 settlement with Gamal Awad, who said he was sexually abused at the age of 14 by Stallings and a seminarian in 1984.

Politics

Stallings made his first leap into politics when he announced for the Ward 6 D.C. Council seat in December 1996. Stallings ran under the nationalist-oriented

Umoja Party The Umoja Party was a far-left political party in the District of Columbia. History Founding and 1994 general election Kemry Hughes helped found the Umoja Party in December 1993, and the District of Columbia Board of Elections and Ethics approve ...

.Stabile, Tom. "Holy Rolling"
''

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'', April 18, 1997 He received eighteen percent of the vote.

Relationship with Emmanuel Milingo and Sun Myung Moon

In the year 2001, the 53-year-old Stallings married Sayomi Kamimoto, a 24-year-old native of

Okinawa, Japan is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 Square kilometre, km2 (880 sq mi). ...

, in a ceremony in New York City presided over by

Sun Myung Moon Sun Myung Moon (; born Yong Myung Moon; 6 January 1920 – 3 September 2012) was a Korean religious leader, also known for his business ventures and support for conservative political causes. A messiah claimant, he was the founder of the Unif ...

, the founder of the

Unification Church The Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, widely known as the Unification Church, is a new religious movement, whose members are called Unificationists, or "Moonies". It was officially founded on 1 May 1954 under the name Holy Spi ...

Emmanuel Milingo Emmanuel Milingo (born June 13, 1930) is an excommunicated former Roman Catholic archbishop from Zambia. He was ordained in 1958; in 1969, aged 39, Milingo was consecrated by Pope Paul VI as the bishop of the Archdiocese of Lusaka. In 1983, he ...

, a former Catholic archbishop who was excommunicated, married a woman from South Korea at the same mass ceremony. Members of the Imani Temple were so upset by Stallings's sudden announcement of his upcoming wedding that some left after services in protest of his "close affiliation with and adoption of doctrine of the Unification Church". In addition, followers of the Imani faith have expressed being offended by Stallings's recent comments about black women. In 2004 Stallings was a key organizer for an event in which Moon was crowned with a "crown of peace". The event was attended by a number of members of the U.S. Congress, a number of whom said that they were misled. It was held at the

Dirksen Senate Office Building The Dirksen Senate Office Building is the second office building constructed for members of the United States Senate in Washington, D.C., and was named for the late Minority Leader Everett Dirksen from Illinois in 1972. History On the eve o ...

, the use of which requires a senator's approval. Stallings said the matter of who approved access was "shrouded in mystery". Stallings was national co-president of the American Clergy Leadership Conference, an affiliate of Moon's Unification Church, and active in efforts to widen Moon's influence among black clergy. He regained attention in 2006 due to his association with

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

and his group

Married Priests Now! Married Priests Now! (MPN!) is an advocacy group founded and formerly led by Emmanuel Milingo, a former Roman Catholic bishop from Zambia. MPN is a liberal Catholic organization calling for relaxing the rules concerning marriage in the Latin Rite C ...

. Milingo consecrated Stallings and three other

independent Catholic Independent Catholicism is an independent sacramental movement of clergy and laity who self-identify as Catholic (most often as Old Catholic or as Independent Catholic) and form "micro-churches claiming apostolic succession and valid sacrament ...

bishops conditionally in a ceremony in September of that year. Stallings is also active in the "Middle East Peace Initiative", which promotes conflict resolution between

Israeli Jews Israeli Jews or Jewish Israelis ( he, יהודים ישראלים, translit=Yehudim Yisraelim) are Israeli citizens and nationals who are Jewish through either their Jewish ethnicity and/or their adherence to Judaism. The term also includes ...

and

Palestinian Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

s.Noble, Andrea. "Bowie resident pushes for peace"
''

The Gazette The Gazette (stylized as the GazettE), formerly known as , is a Japanese visual kei Rock music, rock band, formed in Kanagawa Prefecture, Kanagawa in early 2002.''Shoxx'' Vol 106 June 2007 pg 40-45 The band is currently signed to Sony Music Recor ...

'', January 8, 2009

Works

* ''I Am ... Living in the Rhythm of the God Within the Key of G Minor'' (2003, SKS Press).

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stallings, George Augustus 1948 births Clergy of historically African-American Christian denominations People excommunicated by the Catholic Church African-American Roman Catholic priests American Roman Catholic priests Living people People from New Bern, North Carolina Catholics from North Carolina African-American religious leaders African-American Christian clergy African-American Christianity African-American Christians African-American Roman Catholicism 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people