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The Bishop's Column Hispanics in Chicago: A dilemma to be solved or a richness to be savored? Did you know the roots of multiculturalism in Chicago are more than 300 years old, a heritage that emerges even in name of our city? “Chicago” comes from an Indian word for the strong-flavored wild onion that flourished here 300 years ago. Likewise, we are called the “Windy City,” conveying a sense of mighty power. Following the Indian tribes came the French and French Canadian settlers, first among the multiethnic pioneers who claimed this strong and mighty place as their own. With these early settlers came commitment to the Christian faith and to the Catholic Church and they pursued the task of evangelization with vigor. It became the task of the early Church of Chicago, from its first leader, Bishop William Quarter, to support these Catholic immigrants. The periods that followed saw great expansion, building numerous churches serving ethnic communities. From its very genesis the Church of Chicago was a response to the presence of a multiethnic and multicultural people. Despite many differences and languages, all could find a home in the one Church centered in the one Lord. Neighborhood after neighborhood, the Catholic Church embraced all peoples. Decade after decade, the grace of salvation was mediated to many nationalities. In its very roots, Chicago Catholicism is multicultural. This centuries-old lineage also included some Hispanic presence which today is growing very rapidly. Nearly 40 percent of Chicago-area Catholics are Hispanic. Should we view Hispanic presence as a dilemma to be solved or a richness to be savored? I believe wholeheartedly that the growing Hispanic presence is a graced opportunity. You see that if you look at some core values which are innate in Hispanic life and character. They include: a sense of tradition, God as a priority, a yearning for community, an ethic of hard work and a familiarity with suffering and struggle. We treasure festivity and celebration and finally, we have a spirit of continual gratitude. Are these core values not as much central to Hispanics as they are central to Christians in general? To answer the question, let me lead you briefly through each. Tradition profoundly influences Hispanics whether they are from North or South America, Central America, Mexico or Puerto Rico. Guided by such timeless richness of the past, and especially that of the Catholic Church, Hispanics meet the present. Such a culture, which remains deeply Catholic, enables Hispanics to have a perspective—sometimes a countercultural perspective—from which is born a true freedom. Would it be true to assert that America is currently struggling to refine a culture for today from its traditional culture? Would it be true to say that Catholics have to struggle to integrate tradition with the existential? I believe the Hispanic culture, with its free reliance on rich traditions, can contribute to our evolving American culture and can enrich the Catholic world of today. “Primero Dios” (God is first) is a common saying among Hispanics. In American society, fiscal gain seeks to claim a highest priority. Within our culture, Hispanics are humble people who seek to prioritize God. As such, they confront our omnipresent, consumer-driven and success-defined society. For the Hispanic, seeking faith and experiencing church transcend the gains of scientism and pragmatism. Hispanics believe wholeheartedly that God is present and accessible. Hispanics say to our culture that God can be experienced as the center of the world. Rich celebrations and frequent rituals (“religiosidad popular”) are constant vehicles for this. Community is highly important to Hispanic families. Having a sense of responsibility for many people is a way of life. The Hispanic believes, “I am the sum of my people and my family.” Such an unbending value confronts indulgent individualism and challenges comfort-seekers. This Hispanic insistence on sacrifice for community is at the opposite pole from a search for immediate gratification. From the core of community is entwined a relationship-oriented people. These relationships are fostered by generosity, sustained by endurance and advanced, paradoxically, by humility. Family and friendship ties are lifelines to the heart. Hispanics, like the earliest Christians defined in the Bible’s Acts of the Apostles, belong to each other. Hard work and hardships are backdrops for the Hispanic way of life. Such is often the case for a people of suffering. Hence, the Hispanic work ethic is intense. The work ethic of Hispanics is often overlooked because it is not always money-seeking. Work is dedication and dedication is work made visible. Struggle is at the core of the Hispanic community. Hispanics are a people familiar with countless tests, hidden pains and personal hardships. The spirituality of the disenfranchised opens great windows to freedom and connectedness. An old Spanish folklore reads: “The sufferer becomes the lover.” Hispanics see suffering as positive. As Christians, they know it can become a means of redemption. Festivity and celebration are part and parcel of Hispanic life. Joy is frequently expressed in the festive sides of Hispanic culture. A people who are at home with hardship and struggles know how celebrations are an irreplaceable part of life. For Hispanics, festivity and celebration must transcend fears and divisions. Is that not true of Christians as well? Should not joy be a sign of life rooted in Jesus Christ? The gratitude of Hispanics is a recognition that everything that is comes from God. As well, everything is expected from the loving hands of God. Hispanics believe that graciousness is a way of life. While gratitude is the response of an individual to his people, ultimately Hispanic gratitude is a stance before God himself. As you mull over these “core values,” do they belong only to Hispanics? Are they not part of Christian spirituality? Could interpretations and expressions of these values enrich our Catholic spirituality and our American culture? Could these core values of one nationality no longer threaten and diminish but enrich and expand other nationalities? Could these values, enlightened by tradition and integrated with the richness of other cultures, enable us to refine our journey into a renewed Catholic culture and Church spirituality? Could not this enhance our lived unity in faith? Does not this enlighten the sacred Scripture as we read, “There is one body and one Spirit ... one hope ... one faith ... one God who is over all and works through all?” (Ephesians 4: 3-6) While these values are clearly alive in the Hispanic culture, they belong to the whole church. Look again at the litany: - Traditions enlighten the present - God is the highest priority - Community of life - Hard work is dedication made visible - Suffering that remakes and frees - Festivity and celebration are irreplaceable - Gratefulness to God and graciousness to others Does this represent a dilemma or opportunity? Does this portray an ethnocentric or Christocentric vision of life? Does this bring the dawning of a quiet light as we read, “Just as each of us has one body with many members, and not all members have the same function, so too we, though many, are one body” (Romans 12: 5)? I, a Hispanic bishop in the Church of Chicago, long to foster in our communities these values from which I have drawn so much life. Yes, our city is and always has been “strong and mighty” because of many cultures. Yes, ours is an archdiocese with multicultural roots. And yes, it is the ONE CHURCH called into being by ONE LORD. The values so formative of the Hispanic people have their home in our Catholic Church. Top |