Sisters Mary Goretty Aboge from Gambia, Monika Ulrik from Hungary, Teresinha Dorigon from Brazil and Sharon Kanis from our province, standing in front of Castel Sant’Angelo, recently returned from a two-week seminar in Rome on interculturality, coordinated by the International Union of Superiors General, (UISG), a global leadership of women religious. The purpose of the workshop was to assist religious congregations in engaging their cultural/ethnic/nationality diversity and moving closer to a fuller expression and experience of mutually-enriching interculturality - both within the congregation and in their ministry/mission activities.
The team of four School Sisters joined 176 women religious from 45 congregations. More than 20 percent of the participants came from Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe, and Latin America and 10 percent from North America. They will serve as the catalyst and resource to guide the community through this process. Criteria for participation included that two of the four-person teams had to be in their 50s or younger and had to have experience in initial formation or leadership. Translations were available in four languages.
Sister Sharon shared some of her insights. “What was so life-giving for me was being in the presence of so many religious from around the world who are engaged in some of the most amazing ministries. We talked and laughed…I was challenged by the countless accents in which English was spoken and the amazing stories and conversations…”
Sister Sharon defined what interculturality means, “The real difference between multiculturalism and interculturality is the deep respect and ability to immerse oneself into another culture that interculturality necessitates. It requires a new set of skills and self-awareness. It has everything to do with engaging and appreciation - and unity – making one - in a very deep, intentional and painstaking way.”
She continued, “I really could begin to see the challenge before us. The nuance of language, culture and traditions during faith sharing for example - each of us coming from different perspectives and agendas – it’s so easy for misunderstandings. Unknown biases began to emerge – biases I didn’t know I had until I heard myself surprised!” Sister Sharon concluded by saying, “It’s an exciting time and a whole new way of proceeding in our changing world. The United States is no longer the assumed ‘leader.’ It’s now a time to really begin to hear other voices and open ourselves in new ways.”
The UISG 2019 Interculturality Workshop is sponsored by the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation to support the education and training of sisters in interculturality. The teams will continue their work and report back to UISG through 2020.