Guidelines for Receiving Pastoral Ministers in the United States

Reception and Orientation | G-1

The very nature of the Church tells us that cultural

encounter and orientation is not a one-sided but

rather a mutual process. In addition to the personal

efforts of the arriving international pastoral minis-

ters, the full process of reception and orientation

involves the efforts of many people and groups. It

is of crucial importance that international pasto-

ral ministers coming to serve in the United States

gain an understanding of the cultures of the peo-

ple among whom they will serve. Such understand-

ing will improve the experience of their transition

between cultures and reduce conflict for them and

liabilities for receiving communities. Proper ori-

entation in these areas will make the work of the

minister more effective. From another perspective,

the receiving community must also be prepared for

those who are arriving. This is especially true for

the receiving diocesan or eparchial bishop, cleric, or

major superior in addition to the receiving commu-

nities, such as the diocese, eparchy, parish, institute,

or society.

The reception and orientation of international

pastoral ministers and their receiving communities

includes four distinct stages: pre-arrival, welcome

and initial orientation, formal orientation, and

ongoing support. We will now look at each of these

stages in more detail.

Stage 1: Pre-Arrival

An earlier edition of these

Guidelines

called for

sharing basic information with international pas-

toral ministers prior to their departure from their

home countries.

But even ten years ago, the limited

availability of tools to offer pre-arrival preparation

as well as the complexity and expense of mount-

ing pre-arrival programs made the task daunting, if

not impossible.

Guidelines for Receiving Pastoral Ministers in the United States

(Washington, DC: USCCB, revised edition, 2003), 23. Canon law

envisions some pre-arrival preparation for clerics who intend to

move from one particular church to another for temporary service.

Canon 257 §2 of the Code of Canon Law states that such clerics are

to “learn the language of the region and understand its institutions,

social conditions, usages, and customs.”

Case Study 1

Father P. was ordained for a large diocese in Nigeria

where for over sixteen years he held important respon-

sibilities as a pastor, personnel director, and educa-

tional administrator. After visiting his family in the

United States and having a positive experience of the

Church there, he asked permission to come to serve in

this context.

From the start, the pastor in his first parish seemed

suspicious of him and kept his distance. He gave Father

P. few responsibilities apart from routine sacramental

ministry. He also forbade him to cook Nigerian food

in the rectory kitchen because of “the bad smell.”

Parishioners, as well, did not seem to receive him

kindly. No one requested him for funerals or weddings.

He felt isolated, unappreciated, underutilized, and dis-

criminated against. He was ready to return to Nigeria.

At that point, a new pastor arrived who listened

attentively to him, offered him alternatives for pre-

paring his native cuisine, and began giving him more

responsibilities. Parishioners seemed to follow the

new pastor’s lead, as they made requests of Father P.

and invited him into their homes. The rectory and

parish atmosphere seemed to change, and this had

a profound impact on Father P. who was now more

relaxed and serving with gusto in his parish.

This case illustrates the importance of preparing

the local priests to receive their international brothers

with sensitivity and kindness. Tensions in the rectory

and the parish can be diffused in the simplest ways by

listening to others, recognizing their dignity, and treat-

ing them with kindness.

We now stand at a different moment in elec-

tronic communications, and this makes pre-arrival

preparation a realistic possibility. For example, the

availability and use of social media and access to

high speed internet provide the infrastructure for

pre-arrival preparation. Although many developing

countries lack internet access in homes, it can be

found in public places in most cities and even towns.

The rapid spread of mobile phones around the world

opens another avenue of communication for social

media. Smart phone applications offer new vehicles

for communication with international pastoral min-

isters in their home environments.

Reception and Orientation