Asian pastoral leaders discuss challenge of being a diverse church

Published: 2004-08-24

LOS ANGELES (CNS) -- Two California bishops spoke of their immigrant childhoods, while a third bishop from the Philippines spoke of recovering the "Asian-ness" of Christianity at a regional institute Aug. 5-8 in Los Angeles. A Vatican envoy of Chinese ancestry also shared his knowledge with attendees at the Asian Pacific Institute of Ministry and Mission, held at Mount St. Mary's College. About 65 representatives from Illinois, Pennsylvania, Utah, Nevada, Arizona and four California dioceses attended the institute. The ethnic communities represented included Brazilians, Cambodians, Chinese, Egyptians, Filipinos, Indians, Indonesians, Japanese, Koreans, Mexicans, Thais, Tongans and Vietnamese. "This is very enlightening, useful and helpful," said Huy Ngo of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, a Vietnamese parish in Salt Lake City. He said the resources available in Los Angeles were "the envy of (my) small community of about 600 people from about 150 families." Ngo said he would ask Salt Lake City Bishop George H. Niederauer to have current and future priests take classes on multiculturalism and to have some diversity training.

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