Message from Bishop Solis: Chairman of the Subcommittee on Asian and Pacific Island Affairs

DearSisters and Brothers in Christ,

Welcome to the webpage for the Subcommittee on Asian and Pacific Island Affairs (SCAPA). The subcommittee works collaboratively and intentionally with the Committee on Cultural Diversity in the Church and other USCCB committees to "affirm the gifts and contributions of Asian and Pacific Island Catholics and to provide more opportunities for Asian and Pacific Island Catholics to engage in the life of the Church and help shape its evangelizing mission."

Asian and Pacific Islanders (API) are now six percent (6%) of the overall US population and the third largest number of Catholics after white and Hispanic/Latino. As migration increases their number each year, APIs are among the fastest growing minority groups impacting American society and the Catholic Church as well. The diversity in language, customs, traditions and values enriches and at the same time challenges the Church in the pastoral care of API communities.  To better serve these growing communities and to empower API communities to fulfill the Gospel message in their specific place, a national pastoral plan will serve as a guideline to assist dioceses, API Catholic communities and those who minister to them.

I am pleased to update you on the development of a national pastoral response for Asian and Pacific Island Catholics that is initiated by the USCCB in collaboration with the Asian and Pacific Island (API) Catholic networks. On January 26-29, 2016, a gathering of selected pastoral leaders and consultants was convened by the Secretariat of Cultural Diversity in the Church in San Diego, CA. The Summit II was led by Bishop Randolph Calvo, previous chairman of the USCCB/Subcommittee on Asian and Pacific Island Affairs (SCAPA) with Bishop Dominic Luong, SCAPA member. Using data from a 2015 report on a study conducted by Dr. Tricia Bruce and team on Asian and Pacific Island Catholics in the US, and another report titled "In-pew Surveys in Asian/Pacific Islander Catholic Parishes", which is a component of the study designed and implemented by CARA of Georgetown University, Summit II achieved its goal to provide a solid outline of the national pastoral response.

By God's grace and guidance of the Holy Spirit, the Subcommittee is moving forward in the development of the national pastoral plan. We hope that the work and dedication spearheaded by Bishop Calvo, Sr. Myrna Tordillo, committee leaders, consultants and many others will lead to its approval, implementation and dissemination.

Thank you for visiting our webpage and we hope you find useful information. Your comments and feedback are welcome. You may contact us at @email.

Sincerely yours in Christ,