Guidelines for Receiving Pastoral Ministers in the USA

Introduction

I. Historical Perspective and Current Situation International pastoral ministers have always been a part of the fabric of the Catholic Church in the United States. They were instrumental in bringing the faith to our shores, they helped nourish that faith, and they continue to serve generously among us to this day. Many of our American saints were inter national pastoral ministers, from St. Frances Xavier Cabrini to St. Mother Theodore Guerin, from St. Isaac Jogues to St. John Neumann and St. Damien de Veuster. We must acknowledge that, from the time of the earliest missionaries to our land until the present day, we have benefited from the ministry of so many from other lands and cultures. The richness of their diversity has helped us to appreciate and more fully embrace our catholicity. The presence of international pastoral ministers continues to be a gift to the Catholic Church in our country. They serve in a myriad of ways and are a vital part of the New Evangelization. Demographically, they have a growing presence among us: • International Priests. In 2012, almost 6,000 international priests from 124 countries served in the United States. These priests worked in 188 dioceses/eparchies. 1 They tend to be younger on average than US-born priests, and 98 percent of them are engaged in active ministry. 2 • International Seminarians. In 2013, 879 interna tional seminarians from 81 countries were study ing in American theologates. This represents 26 percent of the total number of seminarians in theologates. Fifty-nine percent of international seminarians were studying for a US diocese; 10 percent for a diocese outside the United States; and 30 percent for a religious order. 3

• International Religious Brothers and Sisters. Unfortunately, there is very little data on inter national religious brothers and sisters, but they are very active in ministry within the United States. Similarly, there is little data for interna tional deacons and international ministers serv ing within the Eastern Catholic Churches sui iuris in the United States, although these groups are active and have rendered valuable service. The large number of international pastoral min isters and their importance for the life of particular Churches in the United States challenge us to pre pare them well for their service and to prepare the communities that receive them. There are, however, some overarching hopes for international pasto ral ministers that we all share. We hope to receive them well, to integrate them into the life of the local Church and US culture, and to support them person ally and ecclesially. We also want to enable those on temporary assignment to be prepared for return to their home countries, enriched by their experience in the United States. These Guidelines provide gen eral directions for dioceses, eparchies, seminaries, and those in institutes of consecrated life and societ ies of apostolic life to help realize these hopes.

II. Theological Framework Understanding the Exchange of International Pastoral Ministers: The Context of Faith

For some observers, the recent arrival of interna tional pastoral ministers in the United States seems to be a historical novelty and a purely practical solu tion to the diminished number of US-born clergy and religious. In fact, from a historical and faith per spective, the reality is far more complex and richer than we might first imagine. The previous section indicated the historical antecedents of international clergy and religious coming to serve the Catholic Church in the United States. An even earlier pattern, at the beginning of the Church in apostolic times, speaks to our situation today. Furthermore, pragmatic reasons for assisting international pastoral ministers assume a secondary

1 2012 Annual Report on the Implementation of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People. 2 M. L. Gautier, P. M. Perl, S. J. Fichter, Same Call, Different Men: The Evolution of the Priesthood since Vatican II (Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 2012), 101. 3 M. Gautier, Catholic Ministry Formation Enrollment: Statistical Overview for 2012-2013 (Washington, DC: Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate [CARA], 2013).

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