DIOCESE of Chalan Kanoa Bishop Ryan Jimenez has been featured in a news story on Fordham University’s website, recognizing his leadership in the Asia Pacific region.
Diocese of Chalan Kanoa Bishop Ryan Jimenez addresses parishioners during a Mass to celebrate the feast day of St. Jude Thaddeus in October 2021.
In the article posted on Dec. 3, author Tom Stoelker noted that Bishop Jimenez is one of the many students and graduates of Fordham’s Graduate School of Religion and Religious Education or GRE and Catholic Extension Society’s Young Adult Leadership Initiative that hold senior positions in dioceses and churches and serve as leaders in hard-to-reach Catholic communities.
GRE is one of the most established online ministry programs in the U.S. It is a two-year program that hosts students in person at the Rose Hill campus twice for two weeks over the summer, according to Patrick Holt, Ph.D., assistant dean at GR. He added that students stay at the campus housing, share meals, and bridge their online learning with real-world fellowship.
Bishop Jimenez is a doctoral student at GRE and he mentioned how GRE professors working with the Catholic Extension Society have encouraged him to reflect and understand the realities his parishioners face. The bishop added that many in his mission are migrants to the U.S. who were born Catholics, but circumstances of migration do not allow for regular access to the sacraments, forcing many to live outside of church doctrine. Bishop Jimenez also considered connecting with divergent constituencies as one of the challenges in his mission.
“For the community I’m in, one challenge is accepting and welcoming LGBTQ people,” Bishop Jimenez was quoted as saying in the Fordham News. “How do we find the balance between accepting and non-judgment as Jesus would and address pastoral issues even as I’m bound to follow rules? I can’t change church structure.”
As Bishop Jimenez continues to take on key leadership role in the Diocese of Chalan Kanoa, he said that the youth ministry remains close to his heart.
“Many of our youth are ‘nones’ and it’s really important for me to meet them where they’re at and think about where our young people are coming from,” Bishop Jimenez told Fordham News. “Gone are the days of the strict reward-and-punishment model of religious education that says, ‘Do this; Do that.’”
With his involvement in the doctoral program at Fordham, Bishop Jimenez believes this will help him become a more effective leader and better serve his congregation.
“You can’t give what you don’t have,” the Bishop was quoted as saying. “I need to update myself with recent studies and different approaches to the practice of service so that I can inspire others. I think Fordham keeps my mind changing, growing.”
Beside Bishop Jimenez, Edgar Guzman was also featured in the Fordham News. The Mexican-American was a master’s candidate in the summer of 2019 and is now the campus ministry director at St. Paul Catholic Newman Center in Fresno, California.
