Transitions, Gratitude, and Hope for the Future
By: Most Revered Arturo Cepeda | Auxiliary Bishop of Detroit | Chairman of the Committee on Cultural Diversity
Dear brothers and sisters,
Fall seems like an appropriate time for me to reflect on transitions. At the end of the Bishops’ Plenary Assembly in November 2024, I will be handing over the chairmanship of the Committee on Cultural Diversity in the Church to my esteemed brother Bishop Robert Brennan of Brooklyn, who was elected last year to take over the reins this November. He will be forming a new committee with new members and subcommittee chairs. I am very grateful that the bishops elected him, as I know he strives every day to be aware of and responsive to the needs of the different cultural and ethnic communities in his very diverse diocese, while also inviting in their gifts and traditions to help build our one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. I leave the committee in very good hands indeed!
Before I finish my chairmanship, I want to highlight some of the committee’s work over the past three years. It never ceases to amaze me the hard work, dedication and high-quality initiatives and statements that the committee, its subcommittees and staff manage to put together often with impressive results.
As we emerged from the hardships of the pandemic, the CDC Committee continued to find creative ways to accompany the diverse cultural, ethnic, migrant, and “people on the move” communities under our mandate. Nothing exemplifies this better than the completion of the Journeying Together process of dialogue with young adults which bore much fruit.
The committee has continued to be a point of national reference through its Building Intercultural Competence for Ministers curriculum and other materials, as dioceses and Catholic institutions continue to come to terms with the diversity present in their midst, the need to reach out to the different communities, invite them in, and equip pastors and pastoral teams to be able to function and thrive in these increasingly pluricultural environments. The committee is currently embarked on making some necessary updates to the decade-old curriculum, but it is happy that the demand for this type of training continues to grow. It is a good sign of vitality in our dioceses and institutions as they strive to go about the mission of the Church to make disciples of all nations, and to build unity in diversity, a distinct mark of our catholicity.
Much of the committee’s mandate is advanced through the work of its subcommittees. I am proud that great things have been accomplished during this term:
-Kudos to Bishop Chad Zielinski and the entire Subcommittee on Native American Affairs who worked tirelessly to give us the first ever USCCB Pastoral Framework for Indigenous Ministry: Keeping Christ’s Sacred Promise (June 2024).
-Muchas gracias to Bishop Oscar Cantú and the Subcommittee on Hispanic Affairs for delivering on the promise of a National Pastoral Plan for Hispanic/Latino Ministry (June 2023), the US bishops’ response to the process of the V Encuentro, and for the continued efforts to promote the reception and local implementation.
-Thanks to Bishop Joseph Perry and the Subcommittee on African American Affairs for their tireless efforts on behalf of the Black Catholic community. This term saw a close collaboration with the National Black Catholic Congress XIII (July 2023) on evangelization efforts, and the marking of the 40th anniversary of the Black bishops Pastoral Letter, What We Have Seen and Heard. (1984)
-Mahalo to Bishop Larry Silva of Honolulu and the Subcommittee for their efforts to reach out to the numerous Asian and Pacific Islander Catholic communities in the U.S., and for convening the National API Encounter in Indianapolis this year. Around 350 API leaders and 16 bishops gathered to discern ways to continue to implement the bishops’ pastoral response, Encountering Christ in Harmony, and to invite the gift and leadership of API Catholics in the local churches. It was a joyful and faith-filled event, and the leadership of the “younger adults” brought us much hope.
-Finally, my gratitude to Bishop Eusebio Elizondo and companions for always being attentive to the needs of the many different communities under the Pastoral Care of Migrants, Refugees and Travelers. Among other things, this term brought about the resuming of the Episcopal Pastoral Visits to migrant farmworkers, the IV African National Eucharistic Congress (2023) in Washington, DC., and continued efforts to support and strengthen other ministries such as maritime, airport and truck driver ministries, and apostolates to ethnic immigrant communities for various parts of the world.
There is so much more I could list. I am both immensely grateful and terribly humbled by the experience. It has been my honor to labor alongside all of you: members, consultants, staff and collaborating individuals and organizations. I end my responsibilities as chairman with so much hope for what is to come. As a new term begins, buckle up and roll up your sleeves!