Mission and Valuing Cultural Diversity Ana Cristina Montoya Sophia University Institute Abstract: Te word “globalization” refers to a multiplicity of political, economic, cultural and media processes having a clear impact on present day history. We live in a world characterized by fear and mutual alienation, a world where many are forced into situations that immerse them in processes of cultural homogenization, happening even within religious organizations and Christian communities. Tis article aims to analyze the challenges posed to the Church by a pluricultural and interconnected world, so as to offer to humanity a culture of mutual love and hope rooted in the gospel. Te importance of fostering and safeguarding real and visible intercultural relationships in Christian communities is explored. T he today of history Christians believe that God became flesh in Christ. Tis means that they believe that history has become a meeting place where human beings encounter not only other human beings but also God. It also means that the quality of relationships is crucial, for it is through these relationships – with other human beings and with God – that one defines and discovers one’s identity, and reaches his or her fullness. 1 It also means that it is important to take into account the historical nature of our relationships when sharing one’s experience of encounter with God. 2 Pope Benedict XVI expressed it with these words: “Talking about God means first of all expressing clearly what God we must bring to the men and women of our time: not an abstract God, a hypothesis, but a real God, a God who exists, who has entered history and is present in history; the God of Jesus Christ as an answer to the fundamental 1. “Our peoples do not want to walk in the shadows of death; they hunger and thirst for life and happiness in Christ. Tey seek him as source of life. Tey yearn for this new life in God to which the disciple of the Lord is born by Baptism and is reborn by the sacrament of Reconciliation. Tey seek this life which is strengthened when it is confirmed by the Spirit of Jesus and when the disciples renew their covenant of love in Christ, with the Father and with their brothers and sisters at each eucharistic celebration. Accepting the Word of eternal life and nourished by the Bread that has come down from heaven, they want to live the fullness of love, and lead all to the encounter with Him who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” Fifth General Conference of the Bishops of Latin America, Disciples and Missionaries of Jesus Christ, so Tat Our People May Have Life in Him (Bogotá: CELAM, 2007), n. 350, https://w ww.celam.org/aparecida/Ingles.pdf. 2. “Te Christ-event is therefore the beginning of this new subject emerging in history that we call ‘disciple.” “Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction (Deus Caritas Est n.1).” Tis is precisely what all the gospels have preserved, while presenting it differently, as the beginning of Christianity: a faith encounter with the person of Jesus ( Jn 1, 35–39).” Fifth General Conference of the Bishops of Latin America, n. 243. Claritas: Journal of Dialogue and Culture, Vol. 9, No. 1 (2020) 28–35 © 2020 CLARITAS | Journal of Dialogue & Culture | Vol. 9, No. 1 (2020) 28