On my Pastoral Work in Idaho

“My vocation is to serve all.”


The multicultural pastoral care of the Catholic Church in Idaho.

Condensed interview with Father Jesus Camacho on the reception of the Ohtli Award 2012.

By Noemi Hernandez

In May, Father Jesus Camacho was conferred the Ohtli Award 2012 by the Mexican Consulate in Boise in a

beautiful ceremony at Saint Mary’s. This is the first time this award has been presented in Idaho. It is the highest

recognition the Mexican government bestows on members of the Mexican, Mexican-American or Hispanic

community in the United States who have contributed in an exceptional manner to the development of the

Mexican community living abroad. I interviewed Father Camacho on the transcendence of this bestowment

and his service experience in Idaho.

Noemi – Father, what is the significance that this award has

been granted in Idaho?

Father Jesus – It has a very positive meaning. It means that

the Mexican government is not disconnected from our reality

in Idaho; that it cares about the Mexican population living

here and also that it is able to acknowledge the people who

support Mexicans in this country and particularly in Idaho.

It is worth saying as well that, as I am the connection with

the Catholic Church in the United States, it implies that the

Mexican government, without making religious distinctions,

appreciates the work the Catholic Church does through me in

favor of the Mexican population living in Idaho because the

work I do, I do on behalf of the Catholic Church, more specifically, on behalf of the Catholic Diocese of Boise.

Therefore, it is the Catholic Church who takes seriously the Mexican presence in Idaho.

N – Father, could you please tell us about your service experience in Idaho?

FJ- I arrived in Idaho on July 7, 1981 at 1:00 PM. My first assignment was in Blackfoot but I arrived unprepared

not only because of my lack of English but because I was trained to serve a community in different circumstances.

That set me out to an attitude of openness to learn because I noticed we did not understand each

other well. God helped me with this learning process because it was fairly easy. I went to the Mexican American

Cultural Center of San Antonio (Texas) to learn about the history of the Mexican-American that I didn’t

know and that, in fact, was the community’s group that was leading the Hispanic section of the Parish community

at that time. I also studied English.

Shortly after my arrival, I also had the opportunity to extend my service through the radio when I was offered

to send a message through a local radio station transmitting in Spanish. It is worth saying that, even though the

radio transmitted in Spanish, the ramifications of my participation there allowed me to realize how much I was

missing by not speaking English well. So it was clear to me from the beginning that I had to learn in order to

better serve Hispanic people in US.

N – Father, from all the things you had to learn, which one demanded the most of you?

FJ – The Pastoral vision. In Mexico, everybody is alike in the sense that there is no cultural diversity at all. Everybody

is Mexican. Here, it is the opposite: Mexicans are Hispanics living in another country. Neither the Diocese

nor I were prepared to deal fully with it. The Diocese had only requested Mexican priests to answer in

Spanish the most immediate needs of Mexican parishioners. But the cultural dimension of these phenomena

had yet to be acknowledged. I feel that part of my personal contribution to the Catholic Church in Idaho has

been to help the Diocese be mindful of the cultural element in serving multi-ethnic populations. That is the

path God has brought me to walk and it took me to enter a Master’s program in this type of theology.

V O L U M E 1 0 , I S S U E 2 P A G E 5

N – Father, how are English speaking Catholic practitioners helped by having multicultural ministers serving the

community?

FJ – For this I want to cite a letter from the Catholic Bishops of the United States about the Hispanic presence

in this country. They say that the Hispanic presence, which may apply to all immigrants, helps us to be more

Catholic. In addition to the immediate practical need of having Mexican priests serving Mexican people, the

deeper reason is that all ethnic groups that practice the Catholic faith have the right to be served in their own

language and according to their own cultural idiosyncrasy. I agree with them. The presence of Mexican priests

in Idaho began to open spaces for the cultural expression of Catholic groups coming from abroad. Now we

have a Department of multicultural ministries in our Diocese.

N – Father, is it then objective to say that the Catholic

Church in Idaho has pioneered the multicultural

acknowledgement and coexistence among diverse ethnic

groups in Idaho?

FJ – That is correct. New comers integrate into our community

through labor only at the economic level. However,

multicultural acceptance and coexistence is needed

for a complete social integration. In Idaho, multicultural

manifestations happen usually within religious communities

such as the Catholic one. It is harder for cultural

manifestations from other countries to bloom in educative

or social settings. Their presence is limited at these

levels whereas they can be naturally more abundant

within the religious communities. For Catholics, it is a way to express more clearly the universality, plurality and

diversity of our faith. They are all essential parts of being Catholic.

N – So do you think that the work the Diocese does to integrate communities in a multicultural way impacts

positively the integration and productivity of these immigrants in our society?

FJ – That is exactly the purpose of the work our Diocese does through the department of multicultural ministries.

They not only welcome Catholic people coming from different places in the world to let them know they

are also members of our family and that this is home for them as well but, they are also involved in the process

to integrate them gradually into our broader community. That is the multicultural pastoral task of the Catholic

Church; a task that we have performed at Saint Mary’s for more than ten years. We have the Hispanic group

that is the most numerous but we have also people from Burundi, Tanzania and Uganda having their own cultural

manifestations in the events we have It is all part of the effort for integration that makes us more authentic

Catholics.

N – Father, how is it that serving Hispanic people opens spaces for better community coexistence?

FJ – First of all, I am a priest for the Diocese and the Parish. I am not a priest for “Mexicans only”. My vocation

is to serve all. The Ohtli award talks about Mexicans because it comes from the Mexican Government not from

the Vatican but I am called to serve everyone even those who are non-Catholic. As my service encompasses

everyone, it is as If I am a bridge. The same way I make an effort to integrate those who speak Spanish with

those who speak English, I make an effort to integrate within the Parish those who belong to the same family

because they practice the same faith no matter where they were born. We have to introduce them, to help

them to know each other; to let them know, for example, that we may have differences in what we eat but we

all eat, etc,. Having different traditions does not make us enemies but enriches our community and our faith. It

is like two brothers with different talents but brothers anyway. There is no contradiction, no need of conflict.

I feel fortunate to have learned to speak English and to have learned about the history and culture of this country

because that helps me to serve as a bridge which I never dreamed to be but I like it. It is a service to the society

but mainly to our Church. So in this sense, the award I received encompasses my service to everyone. In

fact, many Anglophones have told me that they feel the award is for everyone when they congratulate me.

Somehow they know I serve them all and that the distinction I have received through this award is for my service

to the whole community through Mass celebration, through the prison’s ministry, through the radio, etc.

P A G E 6 Ma g n i f i c a t

(Father Camacho continued)

N – Father, you equate your service as that of a bridge. You know a bridge has two edges. Is it possible to be a

bridge standing only by one side? How are you enriched for serving both communities?

FJ – I would be just by one side if I were bilingual but not bicultural. Thank God and to this country, I have become

bicultural so I can come and go to and from the different groups of our community. It is a gift by itself to be

bicultural instead of bilingual only.

N – Is there anything else you want to add?

FJ – I just want to express my gratitude to all people, starting with Father Faucher and the staff, who supported

the bestowment of this award at all times. I also thank all the people who accepted to join me at the ceremony.

My siblings were highly impressed by the presence, warmness, generosity and support of all people. Special thanks

also to the Consulate staff and the Saint Mary’s Hispanic Committee, the Mariachi, the dancers, those who collaborated

in the Mass or the reception and everyone who participated in any way to make this event possible. Thank

God for the Christian life I received and that is aimed to serve.
(This article appeared in the last issue of "Magnificat," St. Mary's Church's newsletter).