The transformative impact of intercultural reflection

By Sister Deborah M. Borneman SS.C.M.

It  takes humility to keep learning, to keep asking, and to remain attentive to new ways of communicating with one another. Accompanying each new generation requires a keen awareness to respectfully gather information needed and careful consideration of the cultural wealth each person brings to their discernment. Photo by Aaron Burden Unsplash.

RELIGIOUS LIFE INSISTS on widening welcoming spaces through our words and actions, embracing a lifetime pursuit of intercultural humility. Yet, the honest and ugly reality of public xenophobia throughout the United States is increasingly evident in the places we live and minister. In an eerie era of suspicion of documentation status, people are being targeted based on accent, neighborhood, and skin color, regardless of their pathway to citizenship. In once thriving parishes, the fear of ICE raids has reduced Mass attendance, sacramental preparation, and youth ministry participation. There are also NRVC international and U.S. members who are afraid of being detained while traveling to and from workshops or having family members arrested during their absence. 

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