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October 8, 2020“And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim. Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven staying in Jerusalem. At this sound, they gathered in a large crowd, but they were confused because each one heard them speaking in his own language” (Acts 2:4-6).
This event will mark the birth of the Catholic Church, the birth of its Catholic identity. It is the diverse context of the Church’s birth that reveals not only its Catholic nature and universal mission but reminds us that the gift of the gospel message always comes wrapped in a particular culture and linguistic package. There is no other way because faith builds on nature.
Something similar is happening in the Church in the United States today and, specifically, in the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City. The cultural and linguistic diversity that we’re accustomed to in some churches and in large metropolitan areas is now permeating every ministry, parish and movement. More than 40 parishes and missions in the archdiocese today offer Mass in Spanish. Some even offer religious education programs in Spanish. So, what happens now, when, as in Pentecost, the whole world shows up on the doorstep and wants to come in?
The first thing we have to do is not to panic. This is not new! In the book of Acts, the first council of Jerusalem is convened because of an integration challenge (Acts 15:5-35). There were questions related to ethnicity and religious practices. But, specifically, the Catholic Church in America always has been shaped by massive waves of immigration, initially from European countries that organized along national parish lines. This helped them to keep their Catholic-ethnic identity. This type of ethnic Catholicism always has been part of the Catholic Church in the United States. In some sense what we are going through today is not new.
However, as the descendants of Euro-Catholic immigrants entered the mainstream of U.S. society, the acceptance of the Church as “American” grew. The melting pot model for dealing with diversity through assimilation became the general stance of the Church.
Then, the great social movements of the 60s and 70s as well as the religious renewal of Vatican II led to significant changes in how the Church approached cultural and linguistic differences. Unlike the previous models of isolation or assimilation, this model seemed to welcome cultural diversity. Diversity became a blessing to be celebrated and not a problem to be solved, at least ideally.
Under this model we have established Hispanic ministry offices. Almost every diocese in the United States has an office with the specific task of working with Hispanic Catholics. However, and despite its good intentions, it has created other problems. First, it has focused on external cultural elements and not recognized that every group has a culture, including European Americans. Culture and cultural identity are mostly an internal reality encompassing values, beliefs and mindset.
Hispanic ministry has isolated itself from the rest of the Church, considering its Hispanic nature prevalent to its Catholic nature or identity. Of course, this facilitated the ministry in many ways and made Hispanic ministry offices more efficient dealing with one ethnic group only.
The model has not promoted collaboration between groups and has divided us into several different groups within one Church. Many pastors will often say they feel they are “running two (or more) parishes under one roof.”
And, most importantly, the Catholic identity as the common ground for ministry has been forgotten. We have to work on fostering a new Pentecost and avoid perpetuating a state of “Babel.”
In all cases, it starts with a deep encounter with the living Jesus Christ, who is the same yesterday, today and forever. And, across cultural lines.