Executive Director's Message: A Year of Many Blessings

By: Maria del Mar Muñoz-Visoso, M.T.S.| Executive Director, Secretariat of Cultural Diversity in the Church, USCCB

As I sit to write this reflection, I must confess I feel a bit exhausted by the journey, but happy and especially very grateful. I contemplate in awe the year we leave behind and I immediately thought to myself: ‘Girl, it is time to pause and count your blessings!’

And what a year it has been! 2023 brought with it many blessings, big and small, but each equally meaningful to us in the Secretariat of Cultural Diversity in the Church and important to the groups and populations we work with. In many ways, it has been quite a historical year that brought to fruition some hard-fought battles.

To name only a few, in June of 2023 the National Pastoral Plan for Hispanic/Latino Ministry, Missionary Disciples Going Forth with Joy, was approved —in a nearly unanimous vote—by the Plenary Assembly of the Catholic Bishops meeting in Orlando, FL. Only those who have worked behind the scenes know what it takes to pass something through the Plenary Assembly (250+ Active Bishops), much less unanimously. But all the efforts and consultation with USCCB committees and offices, as well as the bishops’ involvement in the process of the V Encuentro, made a world of difference.  

Click to read the full article. Check out other articles from the Fall/Winter issue.