Director brought ‘different cultures within archdiocese together’
The first graduation class of the Hispanic Pastoral Leadership Institute listens as Franciscan Brother Moises Gutierrez speaks during a graduation reception at the Archbishop Edward T. O’Meara Catholic Center in Indianapolis on May 11, 2013. (File photo by Natalie Hoefer)
By Natalie Hoefer
When Franciscan Brother Moises Gutierrez was given permission by his order three years ago to pursue a doctoral degree, the timing wasn’t right.
He had only worked a few years as the archdiocese’s coordinator of Hispanic ministry, starting in the fall of 2010. And shortly after receiving permission to continue his studies, Brother Moises became the archdiocesan director of the Office of Intercultural Ministry in August 2013.
“I was enjoying my job, and I kept postponing and postponing [pursuing a doctoral degree],” he said. “And not only that, I was afraid I wouldn’t be accepted to a Ph.D. program.”
But a new thought occurred to him this year.
“I thought, ‘I’m 51. If I don’t do it now, I won’t do it,’ ” Brother Moises said.
So this year, he applied to Gonzaga University’s doctoral program of philosophy in leadership in Spokane, Wash.
Despite his earlier fears of rejection, he was accepted. His last day working for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis was on Nov. 30.
The move for him is bittersweet.
“It’s going to be hard, but it’s been my dream,” he admitted. “When I got my master’s in intercultural ministry, it really opened a door of the world of research, and I loved it. You learn about others and go deeper into a culture. It was just so life-giving for me.”
During his doctoral studies, Brother Moises said he hopes to “explore leadership in different cultures and countries to get the good traits of leadership, and to build up a global leadership approach to ministry in the Church.”
His role as archdiocesan director of Intercultural Ministry provided him with his own experience of leadership with a global connection.
“When I came here, it was like a white canvas,” said Brother Moises. “We were able to really explore possibilities.
“One of the things that I’m proud of that we’ve done is to really help the archdiocese to become more aware of the diverse presence here. We wanted more visibility for the different Catholic communities and cultures, and we accomplished that, showing the beauty of the diversity.”
Brother Moises, his staff and volunteers raised awareness of the various ethnic Catholic communities in the archdiocese in a number of ways.
Among the many activities that occurred under Brother Moises’ leadership were the expansion of the intercultural pastoral leadership programs for Catholics of black, Burmese and Hispanic background; the initiation of an ethnic dinner series spotlighting African, Burmese, Korean, Mexican, Filipino and Vietnamese food and cultures; the highlighting of special cultural Masses, such as the Asian and Pacific Islander Mass and the Vietnamese Lunar New Year Tet Mass; and the creation of the Intercultural Pastoral Institute (IPI) at the former St. Bernadette Parish in Indianapolis.
“Other dioceses may have Hispanic institutes, but [the IPI] is the only one of its kind in the nation,” Brother Moises said with pride. “When new people get the position of director of intercultural ministry in their diocese and they call the USCCB [U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’] Office of Diversity in the Church, they tell them to call the Archdiocese of Indianapolis! Some [people] from other cities have come to see how we do it.”
Brother Moises credits the archdiocesan leadership with his ability to succeed.
“They could have said, ‘No, that’s not important,’ or ‘Why bother,’ but that wasn’t the case,” he said. “In different dioceses, the directors complain about not getting support from their leaders, but that’s not our case.”
Those served by his efforts are grateful.
“We appreciate all that he has done with helping the Burmese community, especially engaging in training, events and letting the other communities know that the Burmese community exists,” said Rita Si Si Lwin, a native of Burma who is a member of St. Pius X Parish in Indianapolis and serves on the Intercultural Ministry’s Burma committee. “He has empowered us to keep working on breaking down culture barriers and focusing on unity in the spirit.”
Dabrice Bartet, a member of St. Monica Parish in Indianapolis and a participant of the Intercultural Ministry’s committee for French-speaking Catholics, said that Brother Moises’ “energy, enthusiasm and his positive level of thinking brought energy and positive influence to the Office of Intercultural Ministry and the various communities. He has been instrumental in bringing forth the various cultures and promoting diversity in our archdiocese.”
The gifts that Brother Moises brought to his role will be missed, said Sally Stovall, a member of the Black Catholics committee and a member of Holy Angels Parish in Indianapolis.
“I will definitely miss his sense of humor, his laugh, his hard work, and his ability to bring all the different cultures within the archdiocese together to share their different gifts,” she said.
The “missing” will go both ways.
“I’m going to miss a lot,” Brother Moises admitted. “I’ve been all over the place in different ministries and different cities, but leaving this one has been the hardest. I’ll miss the people, the approach of the archdiocese to this ministry, and my staff.”
He spoke of a trip to Chicago that he and his staff took in November to hear a popular mariachi band.
“They played this song called ‘100 Years,’ ” he recalled. “As I listened to the song, I thought of my time in the archdiocese, and I thought, ‘In 100 years, memories of this place will still be in my heart.’ ”
As Brother Moises prepared to go forth “on the path that God will show me,” the Mexican native reflected on his love for intercultural ministry in the Catholic Church, a passion he hopes to transmit to others.
“God gave me this gift to be passionate about what I do,” he said. “I’ve been transformed by the American culture, enriched. But I’ve been transformed by the Vietnamese and the Burmese and the Koreans. That’s my passion—the beauty of interculturalism, that we become better people, better communities, a better Church just by opening ourselves to the challenges of being enriched.
“My leaving is a good chance for new beginnings here, new opportunity. It’s going to be good.” †
