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From the Pastor&
Always allow
God the privilege of working in another's life differently
from the way God has in your
own. -- Susan Yates wife/mother
Variety is the very spice of life that gives it all its flavor. -- William Cooper
The recent census tells us that the face of the Twin Cities is changing. All we have to do is open our eyes and see the new people who are calling the Metropolitan area home. Even the Catholic population is changing. We now have new parishes that once served other ethnic groups: Holy Rosary and St. Stephen's in Minneapolis have strong Hispanic communities that worship in those churches that once served the Irish and Germans. A former Protestant church in North Minneapolis is St. Joseph Hien, home to the Vietnamese Catholic community, a large and thriving community. In St. Paul Our Lady of Guadalupe has been serving Spanish speaking Catholics for over a half-century. But now, the once German Sacred Heart is also a center for Hispanic Catholics. St. Adalbert's, once a Polish Catholic Church, and St. Columba's, home to Irish Catholics, both serve the Vietnamese. The former Corpus Christi building on Cleveland Ave N is now St. Andrew Kim and home to Korean Catholics. St. Vincent's is home to the Twin Cities Hmong Catholic community.
Even the face of the Catholic priesthood is changing. We have priests from all over the world: India, Africa, Mexico, Ecuador, Vietnam, Laos, Korea, Lebanon, China, the Philippines, France, Wales, etc. We truly are a Universal Church. Priest's names are changing from Fr. Murphy to Fr. Njoku, Fr. Nguyen, Fr. Savundaranayagam (no lie!)
Even our local parish is changing. We are blessed to have more people of color and new accents from around the world: Vietnam, India, Mexico, Cuba, Guatemala, El Salvador, Africa, the Philippines, Lebanon, Poland, Italy, Canada, England, etc. Do you welcome all this rich diversity? I am 100% certain that there are good parishioners cursing me for being "a liberal bleeding-heart." Maybe, but I'm in good company with the American Bishops and most of the priests in the U.S. We change and grow--or resist and die.
But there are other areas of diversity in the Church. We have always had generational diversity, but now we have Generation X, Generation Y, the boomers, the silent generation of the 60-year-olds, and the WWII generation of those over 70.
Another form of diversity in the Catholic Church is sexual orientation. This is really nothing new; there have always been people with different sexual orientations in the Church. But now it is out there in the open and we spend a lot of time, energy and ink writing, thinking and talking about it. This issue causes a lot of pain and hurt. Some people no longer feel or think that they can call the Roman Catholic Church "home". You might have a son or daughter, a sister or brother, an uncle or aunt, who has been vilified or ostracized. We are in the midst of a struggle that will last for many more years before we find peace and reconciliation as Christians. I hope we find our answers in the Gospels, prayer and charitable discussions instead of from Jerry Springer, the secular press, etc.
There is also theological diversity. There are objective truths, objective church teachings and clear lines of authority in the Church that provide stability and a sense of direction. Not everyone's personal theology is good or correct! But there is room for controversy and conflict (did I say that?). God is changeless but also a dynamic and unfolding God as well. There are groups on the left and on the right: both sides can be intolerant, arrogant, and unable to deal with change and diversity.
The Church is like a huge patchwork quilt, but it is one quilt. We need to be mature enough and have a spiritual depth to deal with all the differences within our Church. We waste our energy and fail to show the wonder of God when we make our sisters and brothers in the church our enemies. Holiness is a strong and loving stance. It welcomes without measure and teaches firmly without condemning.
Let's build bridges instead of walls.
Fr. Bill
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