John Francis Burke

Are you a leader, clergy or lay, in a Catholic parish wrestling with how to bridge the multiple ethnic, linguistic, and racial communities that increasingly comprise your parish? With these cultural backgrounds frequently come diverse perspectives on everything from how to communicate with each other to how to understand God. In addition, such cultural divisions all too often manifest differences in the access these communities have to parish decision-making structures. In Building Bridges, Not Walls - Construyamos puentes, no muros, John Francis Burke highlights the dramatic impact the growing Latino presence is having in parishes across the country, considers the theology of inculturation and intercultural ministry, and provides practical pastoral ministry suggestions on doing intercultural ministry. Includes full text in both English and Spanish. ¿Eres un líder, clérigo o laico que trabaja en una parroquia católica y que lucha todos los días por llegar a las diversas comunidades étnicas, lingüísticas y raciales cada vez más presentes en su parroquia? Estos grupos poseen como parte de su cultura diversas formas de ser y de pensar, desde cómo comunicarse con los demás hasta la misma concepción de Dios. Además, esas diferencias culturales a menudo implican una mayor o menor posibilidad de acceder a las estructuras de gobierno dentro de la parroquia. En Construyamos puentes, no muros – Building Bridges, Not Walls, John Francis Burke muestra el impacto tan grande que los latinos están teniendo en las parroquias del país; explica la teología de la inculturación y del ministerio intercultural; y ofrece sugerencias prácticas para quienes trabajan en este último. Incluye texto complete en Inglés y Español.

It can come as no surprise that the ethnic makeup of the American population is rapidly changing. In this volume, John Francis Burke offers a mestizo theory of democracy and traces its implications for public policy. Mestizo, meaning ""mixture,"" is a term from the Mexican socio-political experience that represents a blend of indigenous, African, and Spanish genes and cultures in Latin America in which the influences of these cultures remain identifiable but interact with each other in dynamic ways. Burke analyzes democratic theory and multiculturalism to develop a model for effectively dealing with cultural diversity. He applies this model to official language(s), voting, employment, housing, and free trade, concluding that in the United States we are becoming mestizo whether we like it or not.