Desarrollar habilidades específicas necesarias para el liderazgo
en un contexto culturalmente diverso. / Develop specific skills
needed for leadership in a culturally diverse the context.
Explorar estrategias pastorales para promover “gente puente”
para vigorizar la iglesia intercultural (Encuentro y Misión). / Explore pastoral strategies in order to promote “bridge people” so
as to invigorate an intercultural church.
2.
3.
National Catholic Association of
Diocesan Directors for Hispanic Ministry
320 Cathedral Street Room 438
Baltimore, MD 21201
The NCADDHM Newsletter
Reflexionar acerca de la espiritualidad como lideres de la pastoral
hispana a través de una reflexión teológica y bíblica. / Reflect on
our spirituality as leaders of Hispanic ministry through theological and biblical reflection.
1.
Objectives:
Isaac Govea,
Office of the Vicar for Clergy
Archdiocese of Seattle
710 9th Avenue • Seattle, WA 98104
PLEASE MAIL MEMBERSHIP REGISTRATION DUES TO:
______________________________________________________
Mr. Alejandro Aguilera
Ex-Officio, USCCB
Most Rev. Gustavo García-Siller, MSpS
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Archbishop Diocese of San Antonio
Region XIV
Vacant
Rev. Francisco Quezada
Region XIII
Diocese of Colorado Springs, CO
Rev. Rafael Rodriguez
Region IX
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Ms. Enid Román de Jesús
Region VII
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Ms. Angela Johnston
Region VI
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Ms. Lourdes Garza
Region V
Diocese of Knoxville, TN
Dr. Maria T.P. Johnson
Region IV
Archdiocese of Baltimore, MD
Region III
Rev. José Gamba
Archdiocese of Newark, NJ
Mr. Juan Lulio Blanchard
Region II
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Rev. Richard D. Wilson
Region I
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Mr. Isaac Govea
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Region XII
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Sr. Anna Marie Reha
Secretary
Region VIII
Diocese of New Ulm, MN
Mr. Humberto Ramos
Vice-President
Region XI
Archdiocese of Los Angeles, CA
Rev. Hector Madrigal
President
Region X
Diocese of Amarillo, TX
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Goal:
Desarrollar un liderazgo para la integración pastoral en una
iglesia culturalmente diversa. / Develop leadership for
pastoral integration in a culturally diverse church.
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NATIONAL CATHOLIC ASSOCIATION OF
DIOCESAN DIRECTORS FOR HISPANIC MINISTRY
(NCADDHM)
La Experiencia Transformadora de Pedro:
A Spiritual Paradigm for Intercultural Leadership:
NCADDHM Conference 2011:
Little Rock, AR
June 27 – 30, 2011
SAVE THE DATE!!!
President
Rev. Hector J Madrigal
In Christ’s service,
Peter the Apostle experienced his own transformation as he began his ministry of leadership
and service. We believe that reflecting on his experience can give us direction and vision to becoming the leaders “in the intercultural reality of our Church and Society today.” For this reason
the Board of Directors is calling us to reflect on a new paradigm for intercultural leadership. We
look forward to your participation in the next NCADDHM conference in Little Rock, Arkansas.
We hope to see you there!
The example of our new Archbishop of San Antonio, Gustavo Garcia-Siller, in his humble,
prayerful, and collaborative approach to service, can help NCADDHM lead the way. We are
grateful to God for this wonderful gift and we look forward to continuing to work with him in his
new position of leadership.
These realities say to us that we are called to be even more discerning and reflective about how
we do things and to be open to being led to new ways of being and serving. We look forward
with much hope and enthusiasm to new models of ministry that are yet to be discovered, as well
as effective methods, “best practices”, for us to follow. What difference would it make for us to
focus on ministering not only to our Hispanic/Latino community but to the entire Church with
an emphasis on the Hispanic/Latino? How can we help the process of integration of all people
into the one “Body of Christ”? Obviously this will require participating more fully in the Paschal
Mystery.
As we begin this new era we are mindful of how young the Hispanic/Latino population is and
how fast it is growing. I recently heard a colleague say that their Diocese just discovered that the
median age of the Hispanic/Latino population is 26 years of age. Did you hear that “Univision”
is the 5th most popular television network in the country and climbing every day? The four top
“American” networks are feeling challenged by this ever growing and changing reality. We are
also aware that as a nation we have not yet responded to the need for comprehensive immigration
reform.
This beautiful season of fall reminds me of the cycle of life where everything has its end and
its new beginning. In our Christian living we profess faith in that same reality of dying and rising as each one of us lives the Pascal Mystery in our everyday lives. Ministry among Hispanics/
Latinos is life giving but requires a lot of dying to ourselves. Often I hear the response, “Estoy
muy ocupado,” to the question, “How are you?” In the midst of all our administrative responsibilities we are continually seeking more time for prayer and discernment. Queremos acompañar
a nuestro pueblo desde una experiencia profunda de Dios.
Dear Colleagues in Ministry
Message From the President
Fall, 2010
National Catholic Association of Diocesan Directors for Hispanic Ministry
1814: DREAMers pretend to be dead at Rodney Square,
Wilmington, DE, reminding public of the 65,000 undocumented
high school graduates whose dreams die because of being in
limbo.
Since 2001, four futile efforts have been made to pass the
DREAM Act by either the House or the Senate. Last year,
Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL) re-introduced the DREAM Act,
S.729, after being moved by weeping small children inquiring
why their parents were deported.
In May, twelve young Delaware Dreamers walked locally
across the city of Wilmington to deliver petitions and present
testimonies to Representative Michael Castle [R-Del]. In June,
four Dreamers walked 200 miles in fifteen days from Georgetown, DE to Wilmington to Washington DC. They received both
approval with honking horns and condemnation with verbal harassment and displays of “the finger.”
This inspiring story reminds me of the courageous young
people whom today advocate for the DREAM Act (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors), which would
give undocumented youth who came to this country as children
a chance to earn legal status.
Without this important piece of legislation, we risk losing
future doctors, lawyers, teachers, and other vital contributors to
our communities. Passing the DREAM Act will reduce brain
drain and increase brain circulation.
(continued on page 3)
DREAM graduate Kati witnessed, “During my first year in
high school, I found out that I’m undocumented. Later, I graduated in the top 1% of my class.”
Now, Kati is in the process of deportation hearings.
Josh Bernstein of the Service Employees International
Union asked, “Why should we waste valuable Homeland Security dollars to deport honors students?”
Graduate Manuel reflected, “After living here for twenty
years, I’m told that I have to go to another place and find a
home.”
Angela Kelley of the Center for American Progress stated
that “a lot of these kids came here as babies… They graduate
from high school. They speak English. Their loyalty is to this
country. Their investment is to this country. Our investment
should be in them.”
Hundreds of DREAM activists from as far as California poured into Washington DC on July 14 to open the gates
of DREAM University, featuring a free week-long teach-in, a
briefing with local university heads to raise awareness, and the
staging of a mock graduation.
Young Dreamers are earning widespread respect because they
are smart, network nationally, and emulate non-violent models
utilized by leaders such as Dorothy Day, Martin Luther King,
and Gandhi. Throughout the nation, Dreamers are organizing
public vigils, processions, and 65-hour hunger strikes, signifying the 65,000 undocumented students in the US who graduate
from high school each year with virtually no options for a career
path. Dreamer Loida Silva fell sick and was hospitalized during
a recent hunger strike in Raleigh, North Carolina. Other Dreamers have been arrested as a result of sit-ins at local congressional
offices.
PAGE 7
Fr. Ovidio Pecharroman Ph. D
Director of the Sol Vocational Institute, a ministry of the diocesan Laborer Priests in Washington, D.C.
Finally, it is very consoling for us, evangelizers, to remember the fact that all cultures will be transformed at the end and will be
seated at the same table of God, our happiness, in the Kingdom.
May the evangelizer remember that he/she always evangelizes a concrete person, not his/her culture. This may happen later.
It is very useful in intercultural evangelization to be convinced of the fact that Gospel transforms culture and perfects it; and that
once a culture is perfected by the Gospel, it becomes itself a more fitting mediation for spreading the Kingdom.
The evangelizer should also be convinced that the dignity and worth of a human person is pre-cultural, and rests above culture,
even if we evangelize the person which, of course, always happens to be rooted in a culture. God, who is pre-cultural, is in fact the
fountain of our dignity.
It is very relevant also for purposes of evangelization to know and admire the values of the culture of the other person, or the other
community.
Intercultural evangelization is a specific from of evangelizing, and not everybody is able to do it. Indeed it is of importance for this
evangelizer to know ‘reflectively’ the essentials of his own culture, which we have just described.
Some Criteria for Intercultural Evangelization
Much of the evangelization that is taking place among us presupposes what we have just explained, and it would therefore be very
wise for the evangelizer to be well aware and learned on those aspects which so much inculturize the noble exercise of spreading
the gospel.
This quick and simple contrast between the two cultures – Anglo and Spanish- helps us profitably to understand the true meaning
of the expression “I do not understand English’’ or “I do not understand Spanish’’, the conclusion being that when we are talking
about language, we are talking about some others aspects and sides of culture also.
In the opinion, those three pillars for the Anglo culture would be: law, number, and business. By law we mean the body of guidelines which give order to public and social life: from traffic laws of commerce and governing. By number we point to ‘amounts’
and ‘quantities’, as we understand it in the words, big, few and ‘small. By business we mean the occupation with those two aspects,
law and number in life.
Now, which could possibly be the three equivalent beams of support for the Anglo culture?
But the family events - births and deaths, for instance - are shadowed by faith, which touches also fiesta and family. So those three
beams are interlocked and subsist in the form of a dynamic and vital unit. They form, now more visibly, a cultural unit in such a way
that, if one of those central lines of support weakens, the others suffer the impact also.
So, for the Spanish speaking people, the world “culture” translates a way of life which rests upon the following beams of support:
faith, family and fiesta. By faith we mean Christian belief; by family, the well known social and biological unit; and by fiesta, we
mean the celebration of events which take place within the framework of the family, in general.
By culture we understand the way a nation or nations perceive nature, society and God plus the
way of living that such an understanding generates.
I have in mind contents which go beyond the sound of words and enter the field of purpose,
meaning, and ways of looking at things around us.
When I hear, for instance, the phrase ‘I do not understand English or Spanish’, what is what I
am hearing? What is it that I do not understand? Is it Just the sound of the words, or is there a little
beat more that remains in silence and accompanies the phrase?
We, baptized people, are very diverse, culturally speaking, within this great Catholic Mother
Church that makes her way to God in USA. But what do we really mean by the word ‘culture’ in
our context?
By Fr. Ovidio Pecharroman
ONE BAPTISM, MANY CULTURES
Dreamers Emulate Styles of King, Day, and Gandhi
by Brother Christopher Posch, ofm
THE NCADDHM NEWSLETTER
THE NCADDHM NEWSLETTER
Some places work on you. They touch your heart and inspire awe. Omaha Beach in Normandy, Independence Hall,
stops on the Underground Railroad. Recently, I visited one of
those places, a defunct Woolworths, now the International Civil
Rights Center & Museum in Greensboro. There in 1960, four
young black North Carolina Agriculture and Technology University students dared to enter a “whites only” lunch counter.
They were not served. They stayed, studied, and completed
homework peacefully. This went on for six months. Many others joined them. Little by little, this sit-in demonstration was
replicated throughout the South. Eventually, the four blacks in
Greensboro were served lunch, the Woolworths seating policy
was discontinued, and segregation began to fade away.
PAGE 2
A lot of work has been accomplished and other exciting events
are on the way. On June 2011, Region X will be hosting the
NCADDHM national conference in Little Rock, AR. Then, in
October 2011, we will have our regional conference in Houston,
TX.
Region X also continued working on its planning process, and
among the points discussed were the collaboration with institutions of higher education, mobile formation teams, as well as
the development of resources and initiatives for the integration
of all Hispanics.
The board members gathered on Monday, September 20, 2010
in Chicago taking advantage of the Raíces and Alas Congress
that took place later in the week. Bishop Gustavo García-Siller,
M.Sp.S., Episcopal moderator for NCADDHM and Auxiliary
Bishop of the Archdiocese of Chicago, joined the board for
supper. After the meal, a very good conversation took place
between the board and the bishop. Bishop Gustavo spoke of his
gratitude for our individual service in our local dioceses as well
as our service in NCADDHM at a national level. He reminded
us that the “memoria histórica” of Hispanic ministry needs to
be retold often and reflected upon as we move into the future.
He expressed his belief that NCADDHM is a very important
organization that needs to help guide the national conversation
on Hispanic Ministry. The board members expressed their
gratitude that Bishop Gustavo had joined them and invited him
to join them as often as possible.
The next Board meeting is scheduled for March 28 - 31, 2011 in
Little Rock, AR.
Profitable time was spent doing the initial planning for
the 2011 NCADDHM conference that is scheduled for
June 27-30 in Little Rock, AR. The board developed the
overall goal of the conference as well as the objectives.
Committees were formed to carry out the preparation.
Subcommittees are encouraged to engage other members of
NCADDHM in the planning and executing of their work.
The board covered the customary board items and
reports: welcoming and orienting new board members,
reviewing the bi-laws and addressing the importance of
filling regional vacancies, updates on the biennial newsletter
and the webpage. The treasurer gave the financial report
and the executive committee presented a budget for the
2010 - 2011 fiscal year, which was approved by the board.
September 20-22, 2010
Chicago, IL
NCADDHM Board Meeting Summary
There were many important points discussed with our bishops.
Bishop Taylor spoke to us of the challenge on identifying “professional Spanish speaking ministers” and the “need for ongoing
training for diocesan staff” to raise the level of professionalism
in our pastoral care.
During the meeting, we were once again blessed to have the
participation of our bishops. On this occasion, Bishop Anthony
Taylor from the Diocese of Little Rock, and Bishop Edward Slattery of Tulsa were present during a large portion of our three-day
meeting.
At this meeting, 10 of the 18 dioceses comprising our region
were represented. We were saddened to hear that Dc. Marcelino
Luna was in a severe car accident and was unable to attend. Dc.
Luna is now out of the hospital and recovering slowly. We ask
for your continuous prayers for his prompt recovery.
Bishop Slattery reminded us of our need of “spiritual life where
[we] are motivated interiorly.” “You can never see your work
as your own work. You do not work for God… You are doing
His work and you are his instrument,” he said. Bishop Slattery encouraged Region X Directors to see ourselves as the blind
man Bartimaeus asking the Lord that we may see ourselves as
he sees us.
REGION X
THE NCADDHM NEWSLETTER
Region X held its biannual meeting this past September in the
Diocese of Tulsa, Oklahoma.
PAGE 6
PAGE 3
After graduating from the inaugural class of DREAM University, Luz Maldonado of Delaware Dreamers and St. Paul,
Wilmington, commented, “Emotions ran high. Graduation
pumped up everyone. Hearing stories of distinguished students
from across the nation brought tears to my eyes. The horrors
that led them to the US are incomprehensible. I was inspired
and shamed to hear of their perseverance because we make
many excuses for not moving forward.”
On July 20, 21 DREAM University students were arrested
for conducting sit-ins at the Hart and Russell Senate Buildings
in Washington DC.
In a letter to Congress, Bishop John Wester, Chairman of
the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB)
Committee on Migration stated, “Those who would benefit from
the DREAM Act…can become some of the future leaders of our
country, provided that we are wise enough to provide them the
opportunity to pursue their dreams… The DREAM Act represents a practical, fair, and compassionate solution for thousands
of young persons in our nation who simply want to reach their
God-given potential and contribute to the well-being of our nation.”
“After the ceremony, marching and rallying around the capital received attention and support. We felt heard. We felt sadness when students who did sit-ins at congressional offices were
arrested and pulled away in police vans. Yet in solidarity, we
waited for them, prayed for them, and went to the places where
they were detained. When they were released, we thanked them
for risking deportation and changing their whole lives.”
King, Day, Gandhi, and those four university students who
dined at Woolworths would be proud.
For further information, visit the National Immigration Law
Center at www.nilc.org
(continued from page 2)
Dreamers Emulate Styles of King, Day, and Gandhi
By Dr. Maria Johnson
It is not hard to get to know nurture people spiritually. I have a passion for serving Christ
Aida Hidalgo. She is easy to and I want to bring him to others.”
When eventually Aida arrived to Providence, she became a
talk to with a ready smile and
fulltime volunteer of the nearby parish and at the same time
approachable demeanor. When
I began my ministry in the Of- got a degree in Social Work. The exiting Diocesan Director
fice of Hispanic Ministry in of Hispanic Ministry noticed her dedication, and invited and
Baltimore ten years ago, a encouraged Aida to apply for the position.
At the diocese, Aida works tirelessly in developing Hispriest friend suggested looking
into the Hispanic ministry of the Archdiocese of Providence, panic lay leadership in the parishes; and for January 2011,
which he considered one of the best models at that time. In the she expects to launch a new Institute for Lay Ministry. She
first conference I attended for Directors of Hispanic Ministry directs a weekly radio and TV program. She works with difof the Northeast, I met Aida and I was left with the impres- ferent movements providing them with days of formation and
sion that there was a well structured and dynamic ministry in spiritual enrichment. She directs Hispanic youth ministry and
Providence, and that she was a very dedicated person to the provides extensive programs in support of families. She trains
teams of couples who address different issues of family life
task of evangelization.
Interviewing her for this article, it has been fascinating to and are a resource for families in the diocese. In 2008, Aida
place her ministry in light of her personal story. Originally, earned a Master in Pastoral Ministry from Boston College.
from Guatemala, Aida grew up in a devoted Catholic family. She is married, has one son and three daughters, one of them
Her father was a community leader who decried the govern- has earned recently a double Masters combining Theology and
ment’s abuses and exploitation of the poor. For that, he was Pastoral Ministry and is looking forward to full time ministry
persecuted, tortured, and murdered. Many of his followers like her mother. Aida Hidalgo is President of the Northeast
“disappeared” and many more died drowned by soldiers. Her Conference of Diocesan Directors of Hispanic Ministry, and
mother and two brothers got political asylum in the United she recently completed the six year term as Board member of
NCADDHM.
States, but Aida remained in Guatemala with relatives.
Aida mentioned that one thing that keeps her smiling is the
Her father’s legacy to her was the gift of leadership, and
since a teenager, adults recognized her abilities to be a leader. annual pilgrimages that she sponsors in conjunction with the
However, her calling was to ministry. In her words, “I felt diocese of Hartford. She has traveled throughout Europe visiting Shrines, the Holy Land, and Egypt.
called early on to dedicate my life to evangelization and to
Portrait of a Director
THE NCADDHM NEWSLETTER
REGION IV
REGION VI
Toledo Diocese:
The Diocese of Toledo welcomes Deacon José Garcia as the new Director of the Hispanic Ministry Office
for the diocese. Deacon José has been very active in various ministries at two parishes in the city of Toledo.
His ministerial gifts and dedication to the Hispanic community will be of great assistance to him in his new
position. Deacon José is looking forward to addressing the ministerial needs of the Hispanic community in
the diocese and is very interested in becoming acquainted with regional and national efforts in Hispanic/Latino
ministry.
Annually, the Diocese of Kalamazoo Hispanic Ministry Office organizes
“Adopt a Migrant Camp Campaign” (June to August) with volunteers from
parishes to provide catechetical support and a variety of activities with children,
youth and adults. This year thirteen parishes responded to the call to commit
one day a week to one of the 200 camps.
Many of the eighty volunteers assumed that the migrants would learn from
them, but found that they learned from the migrants. They were inspired by
witnessing the migrants’ faith, family values, work ethic and hospitality. The
volunteers were challenged by the changing dynamics in the makeup of the
migrants from Spanish speaking to more indigenous groups and with different
dialects, and from family groups to more single men.
The season concludes with the bishop’s visits to the camps and the celebration
of Masses with the migrants and volunteers, and with an appreciation dinner for
the volunteers.
Michigan statewide effort: The offices of Hispanic Ministry are coordinating
and organizing an “Encuentro Juvenil Estatal” for November 20th.
MICHIGAN: Diocese of Kalamazoo
Pastoral visit to Ohio Diocese with Archdiocese of
Mexico City Auxiliary Bishop Armando Colin and
Sister María Arlina Barral, Director of the Office for
Migrants and People on the Move.
This year, on the 21st of October the Archdioceses of Baltimore and Washington held their sixth conference on Hispanic ministry for priests, parish and
diocesan personnel. This year’s theme was “The Bilingual Multicultural Parish:
A Community of Communities.” The keynote speaker was Rev. Allan Deck, S.J.
Executive Director of the Department of Cultural Diversity in the Church of the
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. He presented the theme under
a framework of evangelization and The United States’ culture. He said: “The
church has ceased being a church of European people. What it will become, as
a result of these new currents, our response, our activities, our decisions will determine it at this moment and moving forward.” The attendants, in its majority of
European descent, commented that they felt challenged and inspired. Archbishop
of Baltimore, Edwin O’Brien, in his welcoming and opening remarks said that
the parish is the most effective place to turn xenophobia around “because that’s
the laboratory. That’s where people can get along despite their differences and
because of their differences, enrich each other and make each prouder of the
country that is theirs as well.” .
THE NCADDHM NEWSLETTER
Sr. Karen Bernhardt, National Coordinator of the Catholic Migrant Farmworker Network, and Hispanic Ministry Diocesan Directors and/or coordinators accompanied Bishop Colin and Sr. Arlina on pastoral visits with migrants/
immigrants at their work sites, churches, camps or homes to listen to their
stories, learn about daily challenges, working conditions and their contributions to the States and the Catholic community; to bring blessings and prayers
from the Mexican Catholic community and to celebrate the liturgy and prayer
together; and to meet the local Bishop in each diocese to discuss ways to collaborate and advocate for the pastoral and social needs of the immigrants. The
visits included sites and meetings in the Ohio Catholic Diocese of Cleveland,
Columbus, Steubenville, Toledo and Youngstown.
PAGE 4
PAGE 5
gather for Mass that evening. This year the couple organized the
festival in honor of St. Joseph. Now Lydia wonders when she
will see her children again, the couple has three all born in the
United States, she wonders when she will leave. The children
are bewildered, confused, and sad.
We like to think that the immigration issue is cut and dry with
clear answers. It could be if we lived in a world of cold logic
where humans had no place. That isn’t our world—it is the
world of fundamentalists who make everything luringly simple,
and frighteningly inhumane. Our world has people in it and
things are much more complex than we would like to admit.
Working in a parish in the archdiocese of Baltimore, I remember one Saturday evening after Mass some of the young
adults came to me and said, “Father, let’s go out for pizza”. That
meant, “Father, will you treat us to dinner tonight?” Of course
I said yes. During the course of dinner the conversation turned
to immigration. Two of the young adults were legal residents,
three were not. The three undocumented successively told their
stories of arriving in the country, the difficulties and dangers of
crossing the desert, and the constant fear they lived with. The
last one spoke of arriving on a plane. I asked the question on
everyone’s mind. “didn’t you have to pass through immigration?” “Oh, yes, of course” was the answer. “And how did you
do that?” I persisted. “Oh,” came the response, “the person who
organized the trip for us handed us each a crisp hundred dollar
bill before we got off the plane and told us to put it in our passports. We did, and then arriving at immigration he pointed out
which immigration agents we were to go to. We followed his
instructions.” “Did they stamp your passport?” I asked in complete disbelief. “No.” I remember feeling sick to my stomach.
I thought—we don’t do this in this country.
It was another chapter in my continuing learning about the
complexities of immigration. We should all continue to learn
about the people whose lives are disrupted by immigration—
whether of the immigrants themselves or those whose lives are
truly negatively impacted by immigrants. Then with hearts and
consciences formed by the gospel and Catholic Social Teaching
we are called to justice.
IMMIGRATION: The Minnesota Catholic Conference (MCC) issued a call for comprehensive immigration reform at the federal level in a statement publicly released on June 15, 2010. The bishops cited statements from the U.S. Conference of Catholic
Bishops as well as by Pope Benedict XVI. They condemned the legislation modeled on Arizona’s law saying, “such onerous
legislation would disrupt our communities, violate the human dignity and rights of undocumented immigrants, and break families apart.” The MCC had previously issued similar immigration statements in 2008 and 2009. Again this year they are declaring
Epiphany, January 2, as Immigration Sunday and strongly encouraging parishes to recognize this day.
REGIONAL IN-SERVICE: On August 3, 2010, Region VIII sponsored an in-service that drew approximately 75 church
ministers. The region was pleased to have Alejandro Aguilera-Titus, Assistant Director for the Secretariat of Cultural Diversity
in the Church at USCCB, present “Weaving Together a Culturally Diverse Church.” The in-service provided participants with
a pastoral analysis of the development for Hispanic ministry at the parish level. Mr. Aguilera began the day giving an overview
of the ecclesiological framework for Hispanic Ministry. He then presented the “Nine Steps to Develop a Culturally Diverse
Ministry Community” at the same time weaving into his presentation a number of the best practices that are found in Hispanic
ministry.
REGION VIII
When Arizona passed its recent law about immigrants, emotions flared. People of good will are caught between the truly
American sentiment of the rule of law, and the equally American instinct to help the less fortunate and protect the vulnerable.
As Catholics we are bound by mercy. When we were baptized,
the priest, deacon or bishop anointed us with holy chrism and
charged us to “remain forever a member of Christ, who is Priest,
Prophet, and King.” And so we were configured to live as Christ.
The “king” part recalls the special role that Old Testament kings
had, to care for the widow, orphan, and alien, since widows, orphans, and aliens had no one to protect them. Regardless of our
stance on immigration we are bound to immigrants—through
our baptism. We are bound to justice on their behalf. We should
form an opinion on immigration, one informed by what our
church teaches. Archbishop O’Brien has written movingly on
the topic. The American bishops have a program we should all
become familiar with—“Justice for Immigrants”. Otherwise our
opinion can very likely be based on personal preferences—and
prejudices.
A week after the Arizona legislation was signed, I got a call
from a parishioner. His wife (we’ll call her Lydia) had taken
their eldest daughter to the bus stop to wait for the school bus.
After the daughter boarded the bus and headed off to school,
immigration officials arrested the woman and put her in jail for
deportation proceedings. The family is extremely generous. For
every parish event they help out and she cooks mountains of
food. Every December 8 the wife cooks a dinner for those who
He previously worked in
the Archdiocese of
Baltimore with the
Hispanic communities of
St. Joseph, Cockeysville,
and St. Gabriel, Woodlawn.
Father Shay Auerbach is pastor of Sacred Heart in
Richmond, Va., a bilingual
parish.
IMMIGRATION IS COMPLEX
THE NCADDHM NEWSLETTER