MANDATE AND GOALS FOR THE COMMITTEE

The committee assists the bishops, both collectively and individually, 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 areas of responsibility: Pastoral care of Hispanic Catholics, African American Catholics, Native American Catholics, Asian Catholics, African Catholics, Pacific Island Catholics, Catholic migrants and refugees, and people on the move.

KEY MISSION RESPONSIBILITIES

  1. Collaborating intentionally and systematically with all USCCB committees and offices on issues and initiatives that impact cultural diversity in the Church and people with special pastoral needs
  2. Being a resource and advocate to USCCB committees and offices on issues relating to cultural diversity and people with special pastoral needs
  3. Communicating and promoting the teachings of the Church and the resources of the USCCB to dioceses and national Catholic organizations, especially those ministering in cultural diverse settings, to migrants and refugees, and to people on the move
  4. Providing training to regional and national groups related to resources developed by the USCCB, its committees, and its work groups
  5. Studying issues relating to faith and life of Catholics in culturally diverse communities and people on the move.
  6. Advocating for and coordinating the efforts of the permanent subcommittees to address cultural diversity in the Church.

KEY MISSION RELATIONSHIPS

  1. With all the committees, subcommittees, and task forces of the USCCB
  2. With diocesan and regional offices that support cultural diversity and people with special pastoral needs
  3. With the national Catholic organizations that represent and assist cultural diversity in the Church and people on the move.
  4. With the Holy See and other episcopal conferences

The committee assists the bishops, both collectively and individually, 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 areas of responsibility: Pastoral care of Hispanic Catholics, African American Catholics, Native American Catholics, Asian Catholics, African Catholics, Pacific Island Catholics, Catholic migrants and refugees, and people on the move.

KEY MISSION RESPONSIBILITIES

  1. Collaborating intentionally and systematically with all USCCB committees and offices on issues and initiatives that impact cultural diversity in the Church and people with special pastoral needs
  2. Being a resource and advocate to USCCB committees and offices on issues relating to cultural diversity and people with special pastoral needs
  3. Communicating and promoting the teachings of the Church and the resources of the USCCB to dioceses and national Catholic organizations, especially those ministering in cultural diverse settings, to migrants and refugees, and to people on the move
  4. Providing training to regional and national groups related to resources developed by the USCCB, its committees, and its work groups
  5. Studying issues relating to faith and life of Catholics in culturally diverse communities and people on the move.
  6. Advocating for and coordinating the efforts of the permanent subcommittees to address cultural diversity in the Church.

KEY MISSION RELATIONSHIPS

  1. With all the committees, subcommittees, and task forces of the USCCB
  2. With diocesan and regional offices that support cultural diversity and people with special pastoral needs
  3. With the national Catholic organizations that represent and assist cultural diversity in the Church and people on the move.
  4. With the Holy See and other episcopal conferences

"God does not reveal himself in the abstract, but by using languages, imagery and expressions that are bound to different cultures. This relationship has proved fruitful, as the history of the Church abundantly testifies. Today it is entering a new phase due to the spread of the Gospel and its taking root within different cultures, as well as more recent developments in the culture of the West. It calls in the first place for a recognition of the importance of culture as such for the life of every man and woman. The phenomenon of culture is, in its various aspects, an essential datum of human experience." -- Pope Benedict XVI, Verbum Domini, 2010  

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. Diversity is a fact, a growing reality, in the United States and in virtually all areas of the globe. Jesus Christ commanded his followers "to teach all nations." The Catholic Church, precisely because it is "catholic"—that is, "universal"— has always taken this command seriously. So the Church's mission to evangelize, or proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and to advance the Kingdom of God is centered on the encounter of faith with cultures and on the promotion of justice. This is a process of conversion characterized by dialogue. In this process the Church both gives from its treasure of faith and receives from the

distinctive humanity of each and every culture. As Church history indicates, the Church cannot be focused on its mission to evangelize without being more and more an expert in diversity (see Pope Paul VI, Apostolic Exhortation On Evangelization in the Modern World [Evangelii Nuntiandi]).                                                                                                                                                                            

Excerpt from Synodal Document of Pope Benedict XVI on the Word of God

The value of culture for the life of humanity

Saint John's proclamation that the Word became flesh reveals the inseparable bond between God's word and the human words by which he communicates with us. In this context the Synod Fathers considered the relationship between the word of God and culture. God does not reveal himself in the abstract, but by using languages, imagery and expressions that are bound to different cultures. This relationship has proved fruitful, as the history of the Church abundantly testifies. Today it is entering a new phase due to the spread of the Gospel and its taking root within different cultures, as well as more recent developments in the culture of the West. It calls in the first place for a recognition of the importance of culture as such for the life of every man and woman. The phenomenon of culture is, in its various aspects, an essential datum of human experience. "Man lives always according to a culture which is properly his, and which in turn creates among persons a bond which is properly theirs, one which determines the inter-human and social character of human existence". More