On May 14, the diocese celebrated the annual Behavioral Health Conference with the theme: “Acknowledging and Accepting Differences without Indifference.” The conference, hosted by the Diocesan Department of Life, Dignity, and Justice, was held at the Diocesan Pastoral Center.
“The Diocese of San Bernardino recognizes the great need to promote health and wellness,” said Sister Chilee Okoko, Department Director. “To raise awareness, provide education and information and, most important, point our people to resources of the community.”
The first keynote address was delivered by the Very Rev. Henry Atem from the Archdiocese of Atlanta. Fr. Atem’s topic was, “Addressing the Social, Religious, and Cultural Differences among Peoples and Nations. A call to Unity & Respect of Differences.”
“Just as our tribal impulses are embedded in our human nature so true is empathy, benevolence, and compassion… they require encounter and experience of another person,” Fr. Atem said.
The second keynote address was delivered by Dr. Mario Martinez with the topic of, “Building Bridges, Creating a Culture of Peace, Acceptance and Respect for the dignity of Every Person.”
“Building bridges does not mean abandoning, it means refusing to stop seeing one another as persons created and loved by God, and perhaps we are not only called to build bridges, perhaps we’re also called to become bridges,” shared Dr. Martinez, Director of Parish Life at The Holy Name of Jesus, Redlands. “The Church is here, at her best, when people encounter one another.”
Breakout workshops were led by the Very Rev. David Andel and Sonia “Sunny” Sanchez, whose topic was, “When welcome becomes Lifesaving: LGBTQ Stories of Acceptance and Stories of Indifference,” and Maria Magdalena Cantu-Romo with the topic of, “The Mental, Emotional and Physical Challenges Associated with Joining New Cultures/ Traditions and related Discrimination.”
“These are not rare stories, please understand and acknowledge that for LGBTQ persons these stories represent, unfortunately, just another day this has become the norm in many families, schools and religious spaces including ours,” said Sanchez after telling many stories of LGBTQ persons being harassed in the diocese. “But it doesn’t have to remain this way. There are things that we can do to make sure we acknowledge our differences without our being indifferent.”
The conference concluded with a Q&A session with the panel of speakers from the various talks offered during the conference.