Parishioners should not be afraid of multicultural catechesis or including multicultural elements in their liturgies.

Rather, they should be afraid of the opportunities that are missed by "not knowing anything about other cultures," declared Sister of Social Service Eva Lumas in one of several recent Religious Education Congress workshops that addressed cultural and ethnic diversity in the church and the world.

Those workshops included "Multicultural Catechesis: What, Why, How!" with Sister Lumas; "A Dream Unfinished: Black Catholics and Diversity in the Church with Georgetown University professor Diana Hayes; and "Building Inclusive Communities" with Los Angeles Auxiliary Bishop Oscar Solis.

In her Feb. 18 talk, Sister Lumas also pointed out that multicultural catechesis cannot be meaningful unless it is fully understood, embraced and accepted as part of the catechetical core.

"You don't just add on [to standard catechesis]," she warned, "because this leads to the presumption that there is the real thing and then there are these other things --- multicultural catechesis."

Sister Lumas explained multicultural catechesis as a faith formation process that, (1) affirms the presence and activity of God among people of the world; (2) nurtures the ability to rise to full stature as a group; (3) enables us to meaningfully participate in creating a world that is more holy and more humane; and (4) develops mutually satisfying interdependent relationships through which God-given gifts of all persons can be known, honored, cultivated and equitably shared by all.

To practice "successful" multicultural catechesis, Sister Lumas suggested face-to-face encounters, sharing between diverse communities, and honest and respectful acknowledgement of conflict and differences.

In her workshop on Black Catholics, Hayes also emphasized the need for communities to reach out to one another to build bridges.

"We are all called to be churched together. How can we be churched together when we can't even speak to each other?" she asked the very diverse workshop audience.

She reminded the African-Americans in the audience that it is also their responsibility to reach out to other communities and to open their church doors to members of other groups who move into traditionally black neighborhoods and attend churches that are historically African-American.

"We have to step up and hold out a warm hand of welcome and learn how to be not only inviters but also be willing to educate," said Hayes. "But those coming in have to have patience and be respectful of cultural traditions and wait before starting to try to tell them to do it differently."

"You have to share the Eucharist," she added. "You can't keep it in a little basket for yourself."

On Feb. 19, Bishop Solis --- coordinator of Ethnic Ministries for the archdiocese --- spoke about how to put all these theories together to build successful multicultural church communities where every group feels welcomed and included.

"Local churches are experiencing a drastic change in the makeup of local church communities," said Bishop Solis. "It is very obvious today; everywhere you go you will encounter many people of difference races, colors and languages."

This diversity is of great benefit to the church because it "opens the door to a new age of evangelization," he noted.

The key to a successful multicultural church, he said, is an openness to understanding communities and a strong sense of justice.

"The definition of justice is a quality of being righteous. It is about fairness and rectitude," explained Bishop Solis. "Justice is not only about upholding the law but respect for rights of others."

The struggle for justice is universal, but factors such as extreme individualism and ignorance of the social teachings of the church keep people from achieving true justice within their parishes.

For justice to reign, compassion has to be collective and it has to be acknowledged that justice is the mission of the church, said Bishop Solis.

"Live with justice and practice justice within the spirit of love and we can have an inclusive community," he said. "A community of different peoples united in solidarity and unity because of their one faith in Jesus Christ our Lord."