Bishops Air Views on Ministering to Needs of Multicultural Flock

When the Rev. Gilbert E. Chavez was named 17 years ago as auxiliary bishop and vicar general of the San Diego Diocese--No. 2 in the local Roman Catholic hierarchy--he also was given by Bishop Leo T. Maher the more specific title of vicar general for Hispanic affairs, to specifically minister to and represent the needs of local Latinos to the Vatican.

Since the diocese was growing so quickly--and since more than half of the local Catholic population base is Latino--a person of bishop’s rank should specifically serve as their advocate and ombudsman, Maher felt.

Chavez, who first served as a parish priest in San Bernardino, had taught Latin, Spanish and algebra in Catholic schools and had served four years as a chaplain in the state prison system, working mostly with drug addicts. He had proved himself popular among diocese Latinos.

Ironically, Maher effectively put at arms’ length his own direct dealings with local Latinos, said those who worked with him.

Some Latinos had hoped that a Spanish-speaking bishop--maybe even Chavez--would be named to succeed the ailing and retiring Maher. Instead, the Vatican transferred the bishop of Duluth, Minn., Robert H. Brom, to San Diego.

When Brom took the reins of the diocese a year ago, he removed from Chavez the specific title of vicar general for Hispanics, although Chavez continued in his Vatican-appointed role as vicar general of the diocese.

Brom said church law simply didn’t allow for such a role, of vicar general for Hispanics. By definition, a vicar general is the No. 2 authority for the entire diocese, not one who focuses on a specific group. The title given by Maher to Chavez was contrary on its face.

Still, many local Latinos have taken umbrage at Brom’s action, saying that, at a time when the Catholic diocese should be placing even greater focus on the needs and contributions of local Latino Catholics, Brom would seem to be taking the opposite tack by de-emphasizing Chavez’s historic role as minister to Latinos.

This issue of ethnic sensitivity may be the single largest one confronting Brom during his first year in office, given that Latinos make up the single largest ethnic group among San Diego Catholics.

It’s an issue that both bishops were willing to publicly discuss in separate interviews--allowing a public airing that would have been stifled in the days of Bishop Maher.

“I have told Bishop Chavez that he shares, more than anyone else, in the total ministry of the diocesan bishop,” Brom said. “And I have asked him that, within his total ministry for which he assists me, that a primary concern be Hispanic matters.

“But I have explained to him that the title of vicar general cannot be diminished (by giving it specific focus). It gives him the greatest entre to collaboration with the bishop.”

Brom also noted that he has established an Office of Ethnic Affairs and, within it, a specific Office of Hispanic Affairs, to recognize and respond to “the multiethnic, multicultural dimensions of this diocese.”

For his part, the 59-year-old Chavez was reluctant to be interviewed.

“I don’t want to destroy relationships or burn bridges. I don’t want to say anything that might jeopardize my relationship (with Brom). He’s in a learning stage right now. It’s a different reality for him here, compared to Duluth. He’s been here a very short time, and he still needs to know the leadership of each cultural ethnicity in San Diego, communicate with them, to appreciate them, and to help them grow. One year is too short to do all of that.”

Still, Chavez himself suggests that he is a bit mystified by Brom’s decision to remove his title of vicar general for Hispanic affairs.

“When I got the letter from Rome appointing me vicar general, it said I was supposed to primarily work for the great needs of the Hispanics in San Diego. Otherwise, Rome wouldn’t have considered me for bishop,” Chavez said.

Maher formalized that agenda by giving him title of vicar general for Hispanic affairs, Chavez said.

“It gives my role more emphasis, on what my visionary expectations should be. The one title by itself is so general, it doesn’t say anything. The other (for Hispanic affairs) gives a more concrete objective,” Chavez said.

“I don’t know (why the title was removed). I’m not in charge of the diocese,” Chavez said. “I think the logic that he tried to express was, we are one family. I agree we are one family.

“But we cannot destroy the reality: we are not only a family, but we are a multicultural family. And every person in that family has something to contribute to the world. Cultural backgrounds should be respected. To say we’re just one family is not complete.

“I must respect every culture, because then I can learn something from every culture. If I make them homogenous, one family, I can be trapped in the idea that I don’t have to learn. But, God speaks to me through them. I can learn much from them.”

The challenge to Brom, says Chavez, is to envelop himself in the cultures that are found in San Diego.

“There are different kinds of spirituality blossoming here, and not one is better than another. Mexican. Guatemalan. Filipino. Asian. Each have their different devotions, their different traditions, their different expressions of their relationship to God.

“We have to respect those variations. Unless we study them and respect them, we can dismiss them. It takes many years to understand them. You have to be in constant dialogue with them, walk in their shoes, participate in their lives, see the problems they’re confronted by.

“A good shepherd helps them grow in their culture. He cultivates them.”

How is Chavez helping Brom do that?

“I don’t want to influence him. I want him to learn, with his own eyes and mind. I want him to form his own conscience, his own vision of reality. I don’t want to impose myself on him.”

Chavez, who has his own office at the diocese headquarters on the University of San Diego campus but who more often works out of a separate office at the St. Joseph Cathedral in downtown San Diego, said he at first was scheduled to meet with Brom monthly, along with top-ranking staff people.

But, because of Brom’s heavy schedule, Chavez said, the two men usually get together once every two or three months. It’s a frustration shared by community leaders, of their also being unable to meet personally with Brom, Chavez said.

“People find it immensely difficult to dialogue with him. He doesn’t have the time to speak in a real profound way to the leadership of the different ethnicities,” Chavez said.

“Bishop Maher did have the time. But his problem was, he was too authoritarian, too old-fashioned, where the bishop was all-knowing and too powerful. He put too much emphasis on his own value, that he knew a lot and therefore he didn’t have to look for consultation with others.”

In the meantime, Chavez said, he is embarking on his own agenda, blessed by Brom. At the top of it, Chavez said, is to “serve all the people of the diocese with my skills and experience and capacity.” Second, he said, is to minister to priests. Third is to promote the vocation of priesthood, especially among Latinos. Fourth is to lead parish retreats, especially among Latinos. And fifth, he said, is to support the Office of Ethnic Affairs.

Chavez said he understands confusion among Latinos over why he no longer holds a title that reflects his focus on their--his--culture. “It’s very difficult for people to understand why I won’t be representative of the Hispanic community.”

“Many Hispanics feel I’m really the only one who understands them, and I should somehow have a stronger relationship with them, not because they dislike any other person or diocesan official, but because they realize I’m the only one who can communicate with them, in English or in their own Mexican-American style, or Chicano style, or Hispanic style.

“People want it that way, but it’s not so. We’re in a process of growth, and a process of uncertainty.”