Executive Director's Corner.........

LANGUAGE AND DIVERSITY: A PASTORAL VIEW

A source of some tension in dioceses and parishes throughout the country today is the question of language. Of course, for the Catholic Church in the United States this is nothing new. Given that the majority of immigrants today–both documented and undocumented- coming to the U.S. are Roman Catholic it stands to reason that our Church will have an ongoing need to reach out and serve people in other languages besides English. Occasionally I have met good Catholics who are distressed that the parish offers services in Spanish, Vietnamese, Korean or many other languages.

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Cultural Diversity News

Press Release - Catholic Bishops Urge Participation in 2010 Census

WASHINGTON—Through the Secretariat of Cultural Diversity in the Church, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is partnering with the U.S. Census Bureau to encourage participation in the Census 2010, in order to reach hard-to-count communities.

“By reaching out to more than 25,000 parishes and missions, we hope to trumpet the importance of being counted as well as channel interested persons toward employment as census takers,” said Beverly Carroll, assistant director for African American Affairs of the Secretariat.

More | En Español

Fr. Allan Deck to receive award for bringing a Hispanic perspective to ongoing promotion of Vatican II renewal

WASHINGTON—Jesuit Father Allan Figueroa Deck, executive director of the Secretariat of Cultural Diversity in the Church (http://www.usccb.org/scdc/)of the U. S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, will be honored with the 2009 Aggiornamento Award of  the Catholic Library Association (CLA). The ceremony will take place April 14, during the CLA’s annual convention in Anaheim, California.

More | En Español | Acceptance Speech


Cultural Diversity Video
Cultural Diversity Secretariat hosts breakfast on Energizing Faithful People of Color to the Church’s Faith and Justice Commitments MORE

Cecile Motus
Assistant Director of Asian Pacific Affairs
Welcome and opening remarks

Fr. Allan F. Deck
Executive Director of the Secretariat of Cultural Diversity
A theological perspective on cultural diversity and social justice

Alejandro Aguilera-Titus
Assistant Director of Hispanic Affairs
Three concrete actions for change

Beverly Carroll
Assistant Director of African American Affairs
Outlines some of the current concerns and issues

Cecile Motus
Assistant Director of Asian Pacific Affairs
A parish perspective on empowering our culturally diverse communities

Sr. Joanna Okereke, HHCJ
Program Coordinator for PCMRT
What individuals can do

For additional resources

For additional information on social justice ministry,
please visit the Justice Peace and Human Development website



The Mandate

The Secretariat of Cultural Diversity in the Church assists the bishops in instilling the vision of Encuentro 2000 and Ecclesia in America throughout the Church by working collaboratively with all the committees of the Conference and with bishops and their dioceses to bring Catholics from various culturally diverse communities into a fuller participation in the faith, life, and evangelizing mission of the Church. The committee especially works to promote an awareness of cultural diversity within all the committees and offices of the USCCB.

This mandate includes the following responsibilities: Pastoral care of Hispanic Catholics, African American Catholics, Native American Catholics, Asian Catholics, African Catholics, Pacific Islander Catholics, Catholic migrants and refugees and people on the move.

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