Guidelines for Receiving Pastoral Ministers in the USA

“Reception and Orientation.” The first part will look at various areas of concern (canon law, civil law— including immigration and financial law—psychol ogy, and child and youth protection) that determine the assessment and acceptance of international pas toral ministers. A second part of the Guidelines will explore the stages for the reception and orientation of international pastoral ministers and offer practical suggestions for each stage. Both parts will contain an expository section and case studies followed by some “Frequently Asked Questions.” This format should make the Guidelines document very practical. The concluding sections of the Guidelines will provide a glossary and further resources. The Guidelines should be a substantive and reliable resource for dioceses, eparchies, seminaries, institutes, and societies in their policy-writing. Because of the wide-ranging nature of the Guidelines and the difference in subject matter between chapters, the style and tone will vary. However, the sustaining hope of the Guidelines is that it will provide significant help from distinct disciplines to assist those within dioceses, eparchies, seminaries, institutes, and societies who are respon sible for international pastoral ministers. These, in turn, will guide and support international pastoral ministers in their service to the Catholic Church in the United States and in their personal development in a new and often challenging environment.

The Guidelines are a joint statement of the Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations, the Committee on Cultural Diversity in the Church, the Committee on the Protection of Children and Young People, and the Committee on Canonical Affairs and Church Governance of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). The preparation of the Guidelines also included consultation with the USCCB Office of General Counsel, the three conferences of major superiors of religious in the United States (the Conference of Major Superiors of Men, the Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious and the Leadership Conference of Women Religious), and other outside groups. The committees issuing these Guidelines wish to acknowledge the essential and helpful work of the Committee on Migration, which crafted two earlier versions of the Guidelines in 1999 and 2003. Those versions form the foundation on which these current Guidelines build. The sponsor ing committees for this new version stand indebted to and grateful for the work accomplished by the Committee on Migration. With their legacy, we can take a next step for the benefit of both international pastoral ministers and their receiving communities in the United States.

A-6 | Introduction