The advisory board for Catholic Asian and Pacific Island affairs poses for a photo with Bishop Oscar Solis of Salt Lake City, back center. The article’s author, Jayne Mondoy, is in the front row, second from left. (Courtesy photo)
By Jayne Ragasa Mondoy
Special to the Herald
In July I received an invitation from Bishop Oscar Solis of Salt Lake City to join an advisory board of Catholic leaders from Asian and Pacific Island communities from across the country. Our task: to meet in Salt Lake City in late August to produce a plan for disseminating and implementing the document “Encountering Christ in Harmony: A Pastoral Response to Our Asian and Pacific Island Brothers and Sisters” (ECH:API).
The document is a guide to the church’s pastoral outreach to our Asian and Pacific Island brothers and sisters written by the Subcommittee on Asian and Pacific Islands Affairs of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and approved by all U.S. bishops at their June 2018 general meeting.
As an Asian, born and raised in Hawaii, I immediately identified with the ECH:API narrative. The document describes what is distinct and what is held in common among the Asian and Pacific Island cultural tapestry in the United States and celebrates the diversity of our heritages and traditions. The bishops urge the U.S. church to be attentive to the amount of representation given to Asians and Pacific Islanders at the national, diocesan and parish levels, and to listen, learn, and respond to our pastoral needs.
The document addresses four major concerns for Asian and Pacific Island Catholics — identity, generations, leadership, and the culture of encounter and dialogue — and provides helpful examples of engagement. The depth of wisdom in each component sparked connections, insights and stories from my personal life, and my pastoral ministry experience. I offer these in brief summary:
Identity and generations
“Asian and Pacific Island Catholics are made up of ethnically, racially, culturally, nationally diverse groups of people that share a single faith.” (ECH:API, p.16)
I applaud the way the document breaks down the monolithic identity often associated with the terms “Asian” and “Pacific Islander” while providing practical pathways toward encounter (including inter-generational encounters), understanding differences, finding common ground, and developing a more inclusive community.
In my experience, the widespread use of the terms “Asian” and “Pacific Islander” is a recent phenomenon. In Hawaii, people commonly identify with a specific ethnic group, such as Chinese, Filipino, Korean, Vietnamese, Hawaiian, Samoan, Japanese and Chuukese, each with a particular religious identity and unique expressions of faith. That each Asian and Pacific Island ethnic group is different is an important point to keep in mind as we move forward with implementation of the document.
Leadership, cultural encounter and dialogue in faith
“All persons in a position of authority over the community are called to model the Christian life. The understanding is that they are able to lead and do exceptional things because of their trust in God and the support of the people.” (ECH:API, p. 35)
“Christ’s redeeming grace, his mercy, and his truth can touch and transform us in our cultural specificity and can make us heralds of the Good News to others.” (ECH:API, page 41)
Given the opportunity to exercise leadership and engage in cultural encounter and dialogue in the faith, Asian and Pacific Island Catholics have many gifts to offer. In our diocese, we engage in this exchange of cultural diversity through devotional practices, liturgical celebrations, resource materials, and social gatherings.
Indeed, the Asian and Pacific Island Catholic communities in Hawaii are sources of knowledge and great wisdom for the church in the United States. Share your stories with me and I’ll pass them on the USCCB subcommittee. Together, we will make a difference in building greater awareness of, appreciation for, and pastoral responses to Asian and Pacific Island Catholics across the country.
Jayne Ragasa Mondoy is director for the Office of Religious Education in the Diocese of Honolulu, author, vice-president of the National Conference for Catechetical Leadership, and an advisory board member for the ECH:API Implementation Committee. Share your story with her at jmondoy@rcchawaii.org.
