USCCB - Cultural Diversity in the Church

A Message from Bishop del Riego

We are delighted that you are interested in accessing information about the Subcommittee’s work to assist and support pastoral care to diverse ethnic communities of African-Carribean, Brazilian and European Catholics as well as to people on the move such as: mariners and fishers, airport workers and travelers, circus and traveling show folks and migrant farmworkers.

The Catholic Church affirms the gifts and contributions that new comer immigrants, refugees and people on the move offer and she encourages them to fuller participation in the evangelizing mission of the Church. The Subcommittee on PCMRT is committed to carry on its mandate “to support the pastoral care of migrants, refugees and travelers” by working directly with and under the direction of the Committee on Cultural Diversity in the Church and collaboratively with other USCCB committees.

The webpage serves as a resource to you and we hope you find the information relevant and useful. To learn more, check out the tabs on the upper left hand corner. The tab on the Subcommittee gives a list of member bishops and it also provides links to their arch/dioceses. The News and Events section offers detailed information on various programs and activities such as annual meetings of pastoral leaders in different ministries, on-going formation of lay leaders and young adults as well as certification training for specialized ministries, among others. You will also find an overview of ethnic ministries and people on the move when you click the respective buttons. If you want to access Church documents related to pastoral care of migrants, refugees and travelers, the tabs on the Bishops’ Statement and the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People are just a click away. A ‘headline’ in our webpage is the 2011 message of the Holy Father for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees.

We also like to encourage you to browse the Secretariat of Cultural Diversity in the Church website at /scdc/. There you will find a wealth of information and you can as well download the new brochure of the Secretariat in that website.

Our home page is a “work in progress’, this means we will endeavor to develop and update information to benefit you. Let us know how we can improve to better serve you and please do not hesitate to contact us. We hope you return often.

May God bless you

+ Bishop Rutilio del Riego
Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese San Bernardino
Chairman, Subcommittee on Pastoral Care of Migrants, Refugees and Travelers