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The rise of diversity in parish communities should be met with open arms, said Rev. Allan Figueroa Deck, SJ, director of the U.S. bishops' Secretariat of Cultural Diversity in the Church.

But all too often, he added, such diversity is met with fear and pessimism.

Father Deck will explore the historical tendency for Americans to react to newcomers with negativity - and offer solutions for lay ministers - in his May 16 keynote address at Spring Enrichment.

His talk will kick off the annual gathering at The College of Saint Rose in Albany for four days of presentations and workshops for catechists, youth ministers, liturgical ministers, pastoral care leaders and other parish ministers.

Spring Enrichment is sponsored by the Albany diocesan Office of Evangelization, Catechesis and Family Life.

"We are currently going through a moment of nativism that shows itself in anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim sentiments," Father Deck noted in an email interview with The Evangelist.

Young newcomers
Highlighting the risks of segregating cultural groups, he continued: "We seem to be focused too much on the danger and are failing to see the magnificent opportunity that new groups who are much younger than our European-American 'mainstream' are bringing with their new blood."

Catholics need to seize the chance to influence American culture, he said.

"The Hispanics alone are poised to become a new 'mainstream,'" the keynoter added. "They will not just repeat what we've know before. They will do their thing. Will it be a Catholic thing? That's the question."

Hispanics already account for more than half of the U.S. Catholic population under age 25, according to a study by the Pew Forum on Religious Life. Some experts say the Church's future depends on how it handles the challenge of ministering to Hispanic youth.

Father Deck noted that, with the introduction of any new immigrant group, it's important for Christians - and especially Catholics -to embrace diversity: "This matter is about our Catholic identity. It's about catholicity. The Church is a communion of diverse communities and it works with particular, not generic, identities.

"This way of being one in many reflects the inner life of God Himself in the mystery of the Trinity, a communion of distinct persons in one God."

Stepping forward
Today's Church lacks the priests, religious and financial resources that made the national parish system work during the 20th century, he said; so the number of multicultural parishes has grown dramatically in the past two decades.

Deacons, as well as lay ecclesial ministers, parish council members and other laity, must step in to make multicultural communities successful, Father Deck asserted. These individuals will have to study the meaning of God's universal love and the goal of evangelization.

"When we evangelize, we are addressing what is most distinctively human in people," Father Deck explained. "So we need to be experts in the human, in culture. God in Jesus Christ wishes to become incarnate in that humanity."

Lay leaders also need to understand how cultural groups interact and how prejudices and racism work.

During a separate presentation at Spring Enrichment, Father Deck will tackle the topic of evangelization.

"It is not a simple process and it goes way beyond 'reaching out,'" he cautioned. "If we were more understanding of it and had a positive attitude, we would be enthused about the coming of new cultures and the growth in diversity going on all around us."

Spring Enrichment will be held May 16-19 at The College of Saint Rose, Albany. More than 150 courses are offered for parish and faith formation leaders; for the schedule and registration information, see the centerspread.[[In-content Ad]]

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