The Catholic Church is made up of people of many different traditions and diverse cultures.
Catholics from different countries and regions practice their faith in ways inspired by the local history, language, and customs.
Throughout the United States, many dioceses and parishes are made up of people of various cultures and ethnicities including White, Black, Asian, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, Hispanic, Latino, American Indian, and Native Alaskan Catholics.
While most Catholic parishes serve a geographic area, there are some parishes which are created to meet specific spiritual circumstances, often to serve one of these particular cultures.
Many expressions of the same faith:
Diversity expressed in music and song:
The celebration of the liturgy, therefore, should correspond to the genius and culture of the different peoples. In order that the mystery of Christ be “made known to all the nations . . . to bring about the obedience of faith,” it must be proclaimed, celebrated, and lived in all cultures in such a way that they themselves are not abolished by it, but redeemed and fulfilled: It is with and through their own human culture, assumed and transfigured by Christ, that the multitude of God’s children has access to the Father, in order to glorify Him in the one Spirit.
Catechism of the Catholic Church 1204
A people who turned to God:
Common ground for different voices:
The Gospel, and therefore evangelization, are certainly not identical with culture, and they are independent in regard to all cultures. Nevertheless, the kingdom which the Gospel proclaims is lived by men who are profoundly linked to a culture, and the building up of the kingdom cannot avoid borrowing the elements of human culture or cultures. Though independent of cultures, the Gospel and evangelization are not necessarily incompatible with them; rather they are capable of permeating them all without becoming subject to any one of them.
Pope Paul VI, Evangelii Nuntiandi, December 8, 1975
Reminding them who they are:
Each with a place at the Lord’s table:
After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no man could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits upon the throne, and to the Lamb!”
Revelation 7: 9-10
Supporting the spiritual needs of different faith-filled communities:
Called to encounter each other:
The Truth, Goodness, and Beauty of the Catholic Church
Coming into truth:
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