Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity Sister Marcolette Madden and Sister Carmen Marie Diaz facilitated a recent session on Intercultural Developmental Stages for continuing education for our Sisters.
In The Joy of the Gospel (Evangeli Gaudium), Pope Francis asserts: “In the diversity of peoples who experience the gift of God, each in accordance with its own culture, the Church expresses her genuine catholicity and shows forth ‘the beauty of her varied face.'”
Throughout our history, our Community has valued ‘the beauty of her varied face’ through our interactions with a rich variety of cultures. We reflected on the factors which have influenced our individual cultural identities. Delightful to the sharing were siting of experiences of how, in our varied ministries, we became aware of how we adapted to and reflected the cultures we serve over the years.
Also significant and helpful to the session were examples of intercultural competence from Milton Bennett’s Intercultural Developmental Inventory.
- Denial of Difference
- Defense Against Difference
- Minimization of Difference
- Acceptance of Difference
- Adaptation to Difference: Cognitive and Behavioral Frame Setting
- Integration of Difference
