Cultural diversity in religious life

Sister Teresa Maya, C.C.V.I. led the group discussion.

NRVC hosted in Baltimore on June 17 a meeting of church leaders to discuss cultural diversity in religious life using the 2014 NRVC-CARA study on the topic. Participants included NRVC board members and representatives from the leadership conferences and the Religious Formation Conference. Other participants included Father Ralph O’Donnell from the USCCB Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life, and Vocations; Sister Mary Johnson, S.N.D.deN.; Dr. Arturo Chavez, president and CEO of the Mexican American Catholic College; and Father David Songy, O.F.M. Cap, president of Saint Luke Institute.

Sister Teresa Maya, C.C.V.I., general superior of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, facilitated the day. The frank and candid discussions led the group to decide that all of the conferences represented need to be more intentional regarding cultural inclusivity. Several ideas surfaced about how this may be done collaboratively in the future.