Through Catholic social teachings, the church has the essential "answer" to embracing and accepting cultural diversity in today's changing world, Sister of Charity of Cincinnati Caroljean Willie told some 150 parochial school religion teachers and principals at a recent conference on "Leadership in a Multicultural Society" on the campus of Loyola Marymount University.

"The best way to clarify cultural values and to engage in social and political action for greater equality for everyone is through a 'social action' approach to multicultural education," said Sister Willie, a retreat director, author and cultural diversity consultant. "This is living out one's Catholic social teachings. You know, we have the answer to accept diversity in the world today."

That world is on the edge of a major paradigm shift, she pointed out. With the world-wide-web and other rapidly developing forms of mass communication, everything is connected. There are no separations today, which she liked to think of as "God's view" of the planet.

For Catholic educators that means administrators and teachers should be helping students learn how to relate to all people --- not just those in their own community or country. According to the National Directory of Catechesis, she noted, the Catholic population of the United States is currently more ethnically diverse than in any other nation on earth.

"Each group brings its own language, history, customs, rituals and traditions for building up the body of Christ," she explained. "Since persons can only achieve their full humanity by means of culture, the Catholic Church in the United States embraces the rich cultural pluralism of all the faithful. It encourages the distinctive identity of each cultural group and its urgent mutual enrichment.

"So then the question for us is how do we as educators affirm the language, history, customs, rituals and traditions of our students, and how can we embrace and celebrate the rich cultural pluralism present in our children, encourage the distinct identity of each cultural group. And how do we urge mutual enrichment?"

Sister Willie used an iceberg analogy to distinguish between the surface layer of culture, which includes food and clothing, from a deeper --- or subjective --- dimension, which takes in attitudes, values, beliefs, myths and thought patterns.

When working in cross-cultural school environments, which predominate throughout most of the Los Angeles Archdiocese, teachers often fail to recognize the deeper aspects of culture that govern behavior, she stressed. Instead, students' actions and behaviors are judged by the rules that dictate the teachers' own deep cultures.

In other words, "We make judgments because we think people we're working with think like us," she explained.

Other key problem areas that can arise involve language, space, time, relationships, individual vs. group concerns and work/leisure issues. Communication styles can also lead to serious classroom misunderstandings and conflicts.

"Are we exposing students to diversity on a daily basis?" Sister Willie asked. "Are we teaching students that there's always more than one right answer? Are we teaching second languages at an early age?

"The Gospel message is revolutionary because it challenges us," she said. "Jesus meant it when he said 'love your neighborhood.'"

The Oct. 24 conference, which was coordinated by Department of Catholic Schools supervisors and religion coordinators Frank Montejano and Neil Quinly, and cosponsored by LMU's Center for Religion and Spirituality, included breakout sessions on "The Family, Issues of Culture, and Our Schools," "Music, Worship and Enhancing the Cultural Experience," and "Bible and Culture."

In a post-conference interview, Sister Willie discussed the state of multicultural education in Catholic schools today. "I think there's a lot of work to do," she said. "I do a lot more work sometimes with public school districts than I do with Catholic school districts.

"I think because we truly do value every person and we truly do believe that every child is a creation of God, we sometimes think that that's all that's needed," she added. "And it's certainly a good starting point. But there is so much more we can do if we understand the dynamics of culture to make each child truly feel valued and to be able to express themselves for who they really are."

At St. Catherine of Siena School in Reseda, teacher Ruth Egan's first-graders have parents from Mexico, Vietnam, El Salvador, Guatemala, the Philippines and the United States. She likes to tell them all that they're unique and special in God's eyes.

"It's a great day to talk about all this," Egan said. "Our society is so culturally diverse right now that I feel the situation warrants conferences like this, so we can come closer together instead of farther apart."