Guide to Ongoing Formation for Priests

Appendix C. Cultural Considerations in Ongoing Formation

CONTEXT

281. It is a foundational truth that we all belong to the one family of the baptized. There is a need for conversion that would make ordained minis ters see the immigrant and the international citizen for who they are: our brothers and sisters. Cultures may be diverse, as might histories and origins; but our Lord died to give each of us a new identity that all Catholics share. Catholic priests serving in US dioceses are a culturally diverse body serving a diverse flock. This is not a new phenomenon. Some areas of the United States such as Florida, Texas, and California were already being evangelized by Spanish clergy for more than a hundred years before the establishment of the United States. In the British-controlled colonies on the Eastern Seaboard, early Catholic presence was limited by anti-Cath olic restrictions. By the time the new US Constitution guaranteed religious liberty, some Catholic clergy were already active in the former colonies— notably in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New York. Although some of the clergy were themselves born and raised on the Eastern Seaboard, more were missionary priests hailing from European countries. The strong presence of missionary priests only increased in the nineteenth century, as the Catholic population itself began to change with the arrival of new immigrants. For a brief period in the mid-twen tieth century, US dioceses saw a rise in vocations that tipped the balance in favor of local clergy. Even so, many of those local vocations were in fact produced among immigrant communities, as the sons of immigrants responded to the call. More recently, the numbers have shifted again, as the rise in local vocations has subsided and US dioceses have begun to turn again to missionary priests to fill their ranks or to provide ministry to immigrant communities. US immigration patterns have also shifted 282. 283.