CULTURAL DIVERSITY in the USCATHOLIC CHURCHTODAY

Written by Eulogio Olivo-Rivera,

M.R.E., M.Th.

olilamencristoymaria@gmail.com

The majority of this presentation is based on the document Embracing the Multicultural Face of

God: Cultural Diversity and Catholic Identity, developed

as a resource by the Committee on Cultural

Diversity in the Church of the United States

Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).

"Today as ever the Church's mission to

proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ and

promote the life and dignity of each and

every human being has much to do with insight

into cultures."Father Allan F. Deck, S.J.

Former Executive Director for the USCCB Office for Cultural Diversity in the Church

SOME

DEFINITIONS

Culture: The complex whole which

includes knowledge, belief, art, law, morals, custom, and any other capabilities and habits

acquired by the human personhood as a member of

society."

Cultural Diversity: The respect of, and to different

cultures.

Intercultural : between different cultural

backgrounds.

Intracultural : between factions of one culture.

Cultural generalization:

The tendency to assume that a majority of people in a

particular cultural group hold certain values and beliefs and engage in certain patterns of

behavior.

Multiculturism or ethnic diversity: The promotion of multiple

ethnic cultures.

Communication style:

A set of culturally learned characteristics associated with

both language and learning style, involving such aspects of

communication as formal versus informal, emotional

versus subdued, direct versus indirect, objective versus

subjective, and responses to guilt and accusations.

Culture is always in evolution.

Ethnocentrism:

The tendency that people have to evaluate others from their own cultural

reference.

WHY IS DIVERSITY IMPORTANT

?

We live at a time when the encounter of languages,

races, and cultures is more intense than ever. Mass

media, especially the Internet, travel, immigration,

and an increasingly globalized economy are

bringing people together more and more.

The experience of diversity is therefore,

more characteristic of our times, and brings with it serious challenges and

great opportunities.

FIVE PRIORITY GOALS OF THE USCCB, 2008-2011

1. Strengthening marriage.2. Faith formation and sacramental practice.3. Promotion of vocations to priesthood and consecrated life.4. Life and dignity of the human person.

5. Recognition of cultural diversity with a special emphasis on Hispanic ministry in the spirit of Encuentro 2000.

Food for

Thought

Catholic means Universal.

Encounter of

faith with

culture promoting

justice.

The Church cannot be focused on its mission to evangelize

without being more and more an expert in diversity.

Melting Pot (Assimilation)

vs.

Stew Pot (Adaptation)

The Spirituality of Welcoming: How to Transform your Congregation into a Sacred Community (Ron

Wolfson, Ph.D., Jewish Lights Publishing, New York, January 2006)

The Congregation is a spiritual center for all those who set foot in it. It's a "kehillah kedoshah," a sacred community where,

Relationships are paramount,Worship is engaging,Everyone is constantly learning,Repair of the World is a moral imperative,Healing is offered, and, Personal and institutional transformation is embraced.

They Say, I Say

They say I am brown, I say, I am proud.

They say I only know how to cook,I say, I know how to write a book,

So, don’t judge me by the way I look.

They say I am brown, I say, I am proud.

They say I’m not the future of this nation,I say, stop giving discrimination,

Instead, I’m gonna use my education to help build the human nation.

Excerpt of Diary #103The Freedom Writers’ Diary

SOME DOCUMENTS

Welcoming the Stranger Among Us: Unity in Diversity (NCCB/USCC - November 15, 2000) Brothers and Sisters Among Us: Pastoral Letter on Racism (NCCB/USCC - November 1979)25th Anniversity of Brothers and Sisters Among Us: Pastoral Letter on Racism (NCCB/USCC - November 2004)Asian and Pacific Presence: Harmony in Faith (NCCB/USCC - November 2001)Strangers No Longer Together on the Journey of Hope: A Pastoral Letter Concerning Migration from the Catholic Bishops of Mexico and the United States (January 22, 2003)

RESOURCES

Written by Eulogio Olivo-Rivera,

M.R.E., M.Th.

olilamencristoymaria@gmail.com