National Directory

95

VOCATION, DISCERNMENT, AND SELECTION

program. If the diocesan Church wishes to nominate appropriate men, it may be helpful for the diocesan diaconate office to prepare guidelines, approved by the diocesan bishop, that provide specific information about recruitment, as well as the selection and formation processes. If there is a diocesan pastoral plan for ministry in which deacons have an important role, then the diocese and parishes can more easily identify and recruit potential candidates, describe to them the challenges and opportunities of diaconal ministry in the diocese, and urge them to consider it as a ser vice to which they can commit themselves. 169. The Church in the United States of America is enriched by the diver sity of its cultural, racial, and ethnic communities. Because these com munities share in the responsibility for promoting church vocations, their leaders ought to be formally invited and included in the planning and implementation of vocation programs directed to their commu nities. Their support and encouragement will effectively assist in the recruitment of qualified applicants from their communities. Represen tatives of US ethnic and cultural communities—such as Americans of African, Pacific Islander, Asian, Native American, and Hispanic heri tage—who participate as consultants to the diaconate office can pro vide significant insight on cultural subtleties and their effect upon dis cernment and formation programming, including pastoral placement. 170. Of particular importance in the United States of America is the large Hispanic Catholic population. Knowledge of Spanish and of Hispanic cultures is important in both recruiting and retaining Hispanic can didates. In each stage of formation, essential resources—e.g., transla tors, textbooks, mentors, community support—should be provided to ensure the inclusion of each participant. 171. Care ought to be taken, especially in the post-ordination stage of formation, to provide opportunities for English-speaking deacons to learn Spanish, or other appropriate languages used in the diocese, on a