Program of Priestly Formation (Ascension)

20 PPF

Introduction

(1) First, as it relates to American culture: a. The United States is a nation with a rich cultural heritage of freedom, equality, justice for the oppressed, and open dialogue. 21 However, an “economy of exclusion and inequality” leaves many families trapped in a cycle of poverty. 22 Migrants and refugees fleeing hardship and violence continue to arrive in US communities. The evil of racism continues to be a factor in the social fabric of the United States; Catholic institutions are not immune to the persistence of racism in society. 23 b. In most areas of the United States, the norm is a high level of cultural, linguistic, and economic diversity. Continued Catholic immigration has situated numerous newly arrived people, who present their own economic and religious issues, alongside numerous other Catholic laity who are native-born. Both groups share a common Church, have very different backgrounds, and can be mutually enriched by the exchange of their gifts. c. In the United States at this time, there is the paradox of a widespread thirst for spirituality and, at the same time, a prevailing secular ethos. From another perspective, the nation finds itself more intensely called to build a “civilization of life and love,” even as it struggles against a “culture of death.” In United States society at large, many persons are unchurched or unaffiliated with any denomination or faith tradition but remain open to evangelization. So too, there is a growing number of persons, particularly young people, who are unchurched and who have rejected religious beliefs as irrelevant to their lives. 21 Pope Francis recognized this in his address to the US Congress during his 2015 papal visit: “A nation can be considered great when it defends liberty as [Abraham] Lincoln did, when it fosters a culture which enables people to ‘dream’ of full rights for all their brothers and sisters, as Martin Luther King sought to do; when it strives for justice and the cause of the oppressed, as Dorothy Day did by her tireless work, the fruit of a faith which becomes dialogue and sows peace in the contemplative style of Thomas Merton.” Francis, “Visit to the Joint Session of the United States Congress” (address, US Capitol, Washington, DC, September 24, 2015), www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speeches/2015/ september/documents/papa-francesco_20150924_usa-us-congress.html (accessed December 23, 2021). 22 Evangelii Gaudium , no. 53; see Francis, “Visit to the Joint Session of the United States Congress.” 23 See Evangelii Gaudium , no. 53.

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