En Marcha: Fall/Winter 2006
CNS - In a far-reaching move the U.S. bishops voted Nov. 14 to restructure their national operations significantly. They sharply reduced the number of committees of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and approved a 16 percent cut in diocesan assessments for the conference in 2008 -- decisions that will result in downsizing their national staff by eliminating about 60 jobs.
Despite strenuous objections by some bishops over some of the planned staff cuts, the bishops adopted the comprehensive program of reorganization and strategic planning for 2008-2011 by a 213-19 vote.
Heads of dioceses then, in a 158-6 vote, adopted the proposal to reduce diocesan funding of the USCCB in 2008 by 16 percent. Diocesan assessments, which will cover almost $11.9 million of the USCCB's $139.5 million budget in 2007, will be reduced in 2008 to just under $10 million. Only bishops who head dioceses are allowed to vote on decisions directly affecting the finances of their dioceses.
After the bishops' vote on the reorganization was tallied, Bishop William S. Skylstad of Spokane, Wash., USCCB president, stressed the importance of the moment, the culmination of more than three years of study and planning. "It's been 34 years since we've had a major restructuring of the conference," he said.
After the vote the bishops gave a long standing ovation to Archbishop Michael J. Sheehan of Santa Fe, N.M., USCCB secretary, who oversaw the restructuring plan as chairman of the bishops' Committee on Priorities and Plans. Archbishop Sheehan described the restructuring as a shift from a "modular" model in which each committee and its staff worked in their own specific area to an "organic" model in which there will be far more collaboration among committees and among staff in different departments. Under the reorganization, the conference's 36 standing committees will be reduced to 16 and all ad hoc committees, currently numbering 16, will be eliminated. Some current standing or ad hoc committees will become subcommittees.
Another key to the reorganization has been to focus conference efforts more closely on a few top priorities established by the bishops. The five priority goals the bishops adopted for the 2008-2011 planning cycle are:
- Implementation of the pastoral initiative on marriage
- Faith formation focused on sacramental practice
- Priestly and religious vocations
- Life and dignity of the human person
- Recognition of cultural diversity, with special emphasis on Hispanic ministry, "in the spirit of Encuentro."
Hispanic ministry had emerged last June as a priority that the bishops wanted to add to the other four originally proposed by Archbishop Sheehan's committee. For the bishops' November general meeting the committee brought back that priority in the form of phrasing it as "cultural diversity in the spirit of Encuentro," a reference to Encuentro 2000 and other similar national meetings in recent years that focused on Hispanic ministry especially, but also on celebration of the church's cultural diversity in a broader sense.
Several bishops, led by Archbishop Jose H. Gomez of San Antonio, objected that "cultural diversity" alone did not capture the bishops' intense concern about building up the church's ministry to its largest and still rapidly growing minority, Hispanics. The bishops adopted his proposal to insert "with special emphasis on Hispanic ministry" into the language of the fifth priority goal.
Auxiliary Bishop Richard J. Sklba of Milwaukee, chairman of the Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, objected to the loss of two out of four associate directors in that committee's secretariat. He said that plan would return the secretariat "to the staffing level of 1971" when ecumenical and interreligious activities were far fewer and less complex. He said the plan would force the secretariat to give up its specialist in Jewish, Orthodox or Muslim relations and noted that the U.S. dialogues in question are "terribly valuable" for the advance of ecumenical and interreligious dialogue around the world, not just in the United States. Several other bishops also spoke in favor of the motion to reinstate one associate director slot in that secretariat, but when it came to a vote the bishops rejected the motion.
Bishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Knoxville, Tenn., a member of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities, made a similar plea for a motion by Cardinal William H. Keeler of Baltimore, the committee chairman, to reinstate an eliminated position in the pro-life secretariat. The motion was voted down. Bishop Kurtz spoke on Cardinal Keeler's behalf because the cardinal, who was recently in a car accident, had had to leave the meeting for a scheduled session of physical therapy.
Auxiliary Bishop John C. Dunne of Rockville Centre, N.Y., chairman of the Committee on Science and Human Values, sought unsuccessfully to get that committee -- which was suppressed in the plan, with its responsibilities shifted to the Committee on Doctrine -- reinstated as a permanent subcommittee of the doctrine committee.
Several other proposed changes in the comprehensive plan were also voted down, but the bishops adopted a committee name change proposed by Bishop Blase J. Cupich of Rapid City, S.D. At his request the proposed Committee on Clergy and Consecrated Life was renamed Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations, more accurately reflecting the range of its responsibilities.
Before addressing the changes involved in restructuring the conference at the start of 2008, by a vote of 228-1 the bishops approved a 2007 conference budget of $139.5 million, up $8.3 million from the 2006 budget. They also approved proposed priorities and plans for 2007.
Bishop Dennis M. Schnurr of Duluth, Minn., USCCB treasurer, told the bishops that on paper that budget would entail a deficit of $1.5 million that would have to be drawn from conference reserves. The actual deficit, however, "is likely to be less severe" because a number of staff positions still authorized in the 2007 budget are currently unfilled and will remain unfilled in anticipation of the 2008 staff cuts, he said.
More than half the jobs to be eliminated by 2008 have already been eliminated in practice by not hiring new people to replace departing staff members.
Following the restructuring votes Bishop Skylstad noted that the reorganization would require revisions in the USCCB bylaws and committee handbook.
With voice approval from the bishops he appointed a task force to work out those revisions. It is to be headed by Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas of Tucson, Ariz., elected earlier in the meeting to succeed Archbishop Sheehan as USCCB secretary and chairman of the Committee on Priorities and Plans.
Appointed to work with Bishop Kicanas were Bishop Schnurr; Archbishop John J. Myers of Newark, N.J., chairman of the Committee on Canonical Affairs; Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk of Cincinnati, a former conference president who played a major role in a revision of conference bylaws in the 1990s; and Msgr. David J. Malloy, USCCB general secretary.
Dear brothers and sisters,
First of all I want to wish you a wonderful Christmas and a new year filled with many blessings for you and your loved ones.
Another year is ending and we thank the Lord that the Church continues with her mission of transforming and sanctifying the world. As in previous years, 2006 has had its ups and downs and it has had moments of happiness and growth in God's love as well as moments of difficulties and even loss. Among the ups in Hispanic ministry in 2006, the First National Encuentro for Hispanic Youth Ministry stands out. As you well know, this historic encuentro culminated with a very successful national event celebrated at the University of Notre Dame in the month of June.
More than two thousand people participated at the national event. Most of them were young delegates representing 130 dioceses in the United States. But let's not forget that the national event was preceded by a year and a half of prayer, consultation and reflection which involved thousands of youth and young adults in hundreds of youth groups and parishes throughout the country. The proceedings of the Encuentro consultation were presented to the Bishopsβ Committee on Hispanic Affairs during its November 14 meeting in Baltimore, Maryland, by members of the National Catholic Network de Pastoral Juvenil Hispana (La Red), the organization that convoked the encuentro. In response, the committee announced that it will call for a meeting with La Red and those organizations that collaborated with the encuentro to analyze the outcome and to develop some follow up strategies for the course marked by Hispanic youth and young adults. This meeting, which will also be convoked by the USCCB Subcommittee on Youth and Young Adults, will be held in San Antonio, Texas, on February 18-19, 2007.
Among the difficult moments in 2006, we are deeply moved by the passing of our brother Bishop Manuel Moreno, former bishop of Tucson, who died November 17 in Tucson, Arizona surrounded by family and friends.
Many blessings to each and everyone of you.
Chairman, Bishops' Committee on Hispanic Affairs
Bishop of Lubbock
The Catholic bishops of the United States met in Baltimore, Maryland, on November 13-16 for their annual fall meeting. Included in their agenda was an item that has been in the works for several yearsβthe restructuring and reorganization of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). The bishops overwhelming approved the restructuring with 91% of the bishops voting in favor.
Change is frightening for all of us, and many of us in Hispanic ministry have felt a rollercoaster of emotions over the past several years. What has been felt at the parish and diocesan communities has now come to the USCCB. The emotions that come from the uncertainty of the future and the possible economic impact on families are the most obvious indicators.
At the USCCB, however, there is also an excitement that comes from possibly starting something new, different and more relevant. The departments, offices and secretariats for annual collections, pastoral ministries and public policy will continue to be a focus for the US Bishops, but now there will be a more deliberate and systematic process of collaboration for the implementation of USCCB established priorities.
One of the priorities affirmed is that of a special emphasis on Hispanics in the spirit of Encuentro, which all Conference departments, offices and secretariats will fulfill. The bishops' overall goal is to identify the needed talents and resources to carryout their priorities in a more streamlined and effective manner.
Restructuring of the USCCB will have an impact on how the Committee and Secretariat for Hispanic Affairs function. Given the US bishops action, there is now a definitive mandate for the Conference to reduce staffing and budgets and to focus on how to collaboratively meet the challenges facing the Church today.
Departments, offices and secretariats have been grouped into clusters. These clusters will focus on the assigned ministry and responsibility while coordinating national projects and priorities as a team.
In the case of the Committee and Secretariat for Hispanic Affairs, the new cluster of Cultural Diversity in the Church will focus on its approved pastoral ministry priorities while partnering with other ethnic and racial groups in fulfilling the assigned priorities and pastoral efforts assigned by the Diversity Committee. The offices for African and African American Catholics, Asian/Pacific Islanders Catholics, Hispanic/Latino Catholics, Native American Catholics and Pastoral Care of Catholic Immigrants, Refugees and Travelers become one team working collaboratively.
The staff of this new cluster will share and learn from one another and partner in responding to identified pastoral needs within our respective and collective communities while collaborating with USCCB staff on common agendas, campaigns and national events. Possible collaborative issues the Cultural Diversity cluster could work on are youth and young adult ministry, vocations, evangelization and adult formation. Like everyone else, I too fear the unknown and the uncertainty that comes from change. The US bishops' priority of responding to the Hispanic presence is affirming and guarantees that the established pastoral ministry efforts that have been integral to our ecclesial journey will continue. For that we are grateful.
Have a Merry Christmas a wonderful New Year!
Peace!
Ron Cruz
(CNS) -- Msgr. Daniel E. Flores, rector of Corpus Christi Cathedral in Corpus Christi, Texas, has been named an auxiliary bishop of Detroit by Pope Benedict XVI. Archbishop Pietro Sambi, apostolic nuncio to the United States, announced the appointment Oct. 28 in Washington. Bishop-designate Flores, 45, is to be ordained a bishop Nov. 29 at Blessed Sacrament Cathedral in Detroit.
He will be the first Hispanic bishop to serve in the Detroit Archdiocese and the youngest bishop in the country. Previously, Bishop Alexander K. Sample of Marquette, Mich., was the youngest, but he turns 46 Nov. 7. The Texas priest's appointment brings the total number of active Hispanic bishops in the United States to 25.
Detroit Cardinal Adam J. Maida indicated the new auxiliary's ministry will include a special focus on Hispanic concerns. "Conservatively, we know that there are at least 130,000 Hispanic Catholics within the archdiocese," Cardinal Maida said. "Our Latino and Latina brothers and sisters are the church of today -- a vibrant and active community, making many important contributions right now in our local church," he said.
Bishop Edmond Carmody of Corpus Christi called the new bishop-designate "a true servant-priest and leader, someone who is kind, pastoral, intelligent and highly organized, someone who relates well to everyone -- the young, the middle-aged and the elderly."
Daniel E. Flores was born Aug. 28, 1961, in Palacios, Texas. He was baptized in Zapata and grew up in Corpus Christi. After two years of study at the University of Dallas, he entered Holy Trinity Seminary, the formation house for priesthood students connected with the university, and completed his philosophy and theology studies at the University of Dallas.
He was ordained a priest of the Corpus Christi Diocese Jan. 30, 1988. His assignments in Corpus Christi have included parochial vicar at the Corpus Christi Cathedral, secretary to the bishop and master of ceremonies, assistant chancellor, rector of St. John Vianney House of Studies and episcopal vicar for vocations.
He was sent to Rome in 1997 for advanced studies and earned a doctorate in theology in 2000 from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas. On his return to Corpus Christi, he was named diocesan chancellor. He held that post until August 2001, when he was assigned to serve in the Galveston-Houston Diocese (now Archdiocese) as part of the formation faculty of St. Mary's Seminary and the theology teaching faculty of the University of St. Thomas in Houston. He was made vice rector of the seminary in 2002.
Bishop-designate Flores was named rector of Corpus Christi Cathedral in September 2005. He administered that post while fulfilling teaching commitments at the University of St. Thomas during the 2005-06 school year, and in June 2006 he took up the cathedral post full time.
First introduced to Detroit Catholics Oct. 28 at a previously scheduled prayer service at the chapel of Sacred Heart Seminary in Detroit, Bishop-designate Flores greeted them in English and Spanish. In Spanish he said that he came "from a poor but proud family that traces its ancestry to both sides of the Mexican border."
He said his family taught him "to appreciate the riches of the cultures that flourish in the lands of the United States and Mexico." He said he hopes to be the kind of bishop who listens to people and learns about their particular situations so he can know how best to serve them.
"I use the phrase 'with all the energy that I have' because I really do believe in giving your best effort to something. ... The work of the kingdom is the work that requires us to roll up our sleeves and to throw our mind and will into it," Bishop-designate Flores said. He said he was looking forward to becoming familiar with the various Hispanic communities in the archdiocese. "I believe that the Hispanic communities all over the United States have a great deal to contribute culturally by their faith, and by their witness to faith, to a renewal of culture of the United States," he said.
Bishop Manuel D. Moreno, former bishop of Tucson, died November 17th at his home surrounded by members of this family and friends. His youngest grand nieces and grand nephews were at his bedside, signing the hymn βCome to the Table of Plentyβ when the Bishop slipped peacefully away.
Bishop Moreno was the son of Mexican migrant farmworkers who emphasized the importance of education. He was a kind and simple man and a good listener. Bishop Moreno was one of the first Hispanic bishops in the United States. He was appointed bishop of Tucson in early 1982.
Bishop Moreno died hours after returning home from a Phoenix hospital where he had undergone surgery for bleeding in his brain. Although the surgery was successful in relieving the pressure, the doctors informed the bishops' family that there had been renewed bleeding as a result of the prostate cancer that had spread.
Because of his health issues, Bishop Moreno retired in March 2003. At that time, he revealed that he was suffering from Parkinson disease and cancer of the prostate. He began chemotherapy of the cancer several months ago. Bishop Moreno was 75.
Ron Cruz, Director of the USCCB Secretariat for Hispanic Affairs, who worked with Bishop Moreno in Tucson as Director for Hispanic Ministry in that diocese said: βBishop Manny was foremost a kind and loving priest who loved the people and trusted in the goodness of God's children. He was a humble man who made everyone feel comfortable because he was at ease with who he was and at peace in his calling to serve the Church.
Doctor Carmen Maria Cervantes, executive director of Instituto Fe y Vida and Mr. Rey MalavΓ©, Youth coordinator of Hispanic youth and young adults ministry in the Diocese of Orlando were the recipients of the Archbishop Patrick F. Flores Award which is awarded to key leaders in Hispanic ministry by the Bishops' Committee on Hispanic Affairs. The awards were given at a reception and dinner in Baltimore on November 12th. The U.S. bishops general meeting was held Nov. 13-16, 2006.
The Instituto Fe y Vida is a Catholic institute dedicated to empowering young Hispanics for leadership in church and society. Carmen Cervantes was instrumental in the development, publication and distribution of La Biblia CatΓ³lica para JΓ³venes (The Catholic Youth Bible), a study Bible for Latino youths and young adults, as its general editor. She was also a member of the editorial team of The Catholic Youth Bible, an English-language Bible published by St. Mary's Press. A Mexican native, Cervantes is a faculty member of the Hispanic pastoral program at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles and has taught courses in evangelization, catechesis and youth ministry at universities throughout the United States.
Rey Malave, has been involved in youth and young adult ministry for more than 27 years, providing youth ministry leadership training courses for both Hispanic and non-Hispanic youths in the Orlando Diocese and the U.S. Southeast. He was chairperson of the First National Encuentro for Hispanic Youth and Young Adults, a yearlong task culminating in a national conference at the University of Notre Dame in June. In addition to serving on various committees for the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry and the National Catholic Youth Conference, Rey Malave has also provided coordination and training in mission trips for youths and young adults to Mexico and to the Dominican Republic.
Previous recipients of the award were: Most Rev. Agustín Román, Msgr. Brian Walsh, Rev. Virgilio Elizondo, Rev. Mario VizcaΓno, Rev. Joseph Fitzpatrick (deceased), Sr. Angela Erevia, Mrs. Olga Villa Parra, Mr. Edward Kalbfleish, Mr. Mario Paredes, Mr. & Mrs. Roberto Piña, Sister Rosa María Icaza and the Instituto Hispano de Liturgia.
(CNS) -- More than 100 U.S. Hispanic priests met in Philadelphia Oct. 9-13 to discuss the pastoral challenges of serving the nation's rapidly growing Hispanic Catholic population. The five-day meeting was the 17th annual convention of the Asociacion Nacional de Sacerdotes Hispanos (National Association of Hispanic Priests). Philadelphia's Cardinal Justin Rigali, who celebrated an Oct. 9 Spanish-language Mass for the group at the Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul, told them their ministry "is of tremendous importance for the future, not only of the Hispanic community in the United States, but the whole church." The cardinal urged them to "be a bridge in what you do and what you say."
There are approximately 4,200 Hispanic priests ministering in the United States, serving a Hispanic Catholic population of roughly 25 million, according to the group's president, Father Andres Mendoza of Lubbock, Texas. Any Hispanic priest living in the United States can join the association, but Father Mendoza said most of the members are sons of immigrants or are immigrants themselves. He said he came to the United States from Chihuahua, Mexico,13 years ago. "I feel very happy in the United States," he said. "Yes, I had to learn another culture, another language, and another reality. I feel very accepted. And I think Hispanic priests are a blessing for the church."
The single greatest challenge facing U.S. Hispanic Catholics is a dearth of Hispanic leaders in the church, Father Mendoza believes. "The Hispanic Catholic priests who come here need to speak both languages. They have to be bilingual in order to become leaders and have greater influence," he said.
He said their second task is to develop religious vocations from among Hispanics in the United States, urging youths to discover their calling from God. Hispanics are becoming the largest single ethnic group in the U.S. church, but without more priests and vocations, "we don't have the pastoral ministry to support these people, and it's a big challenge," Father Mendoza said. Part of the problem is that some in the pool of prospective priesthood candidates are held back by a lack of education, a lack of the English-language skills required by most seminaries, or even a lack of documents showing they are legally in the United States, he said.
"To me, the bishops have to have an open mind, and help them, in one way or another, to fix their papers," he added.
Also challenging the Catholic faith and its traditions among Hispanics -- not only here but in all of Latin America -- are the deep inroads made by Pentecostal churches into the Latino culture. Father Mendoza noted that the culture of the Hispanic people can be hospitable to the emotionality of Pentecostal worship services, which may draw in Latinos with that type of spirituality. To counter that, he recommended that priests ministering to Hispanics stress movements such as charismatic renewal and the Cursillo movement, which seeks to promote individual and organized apostolic action.
The homilist at the Mass in the cathedral was Archbishop Jose H. Gomez of San Antonio, a former president of the association. His mother was raised in Texas, but he was born in Monterrey, Mexico, and came to the United States 20 years ago. Hispanics can enrich the U.S. church through the integration of their gifts of culture and faith, Archbishop Gomez said. They are open to the values of family, community and forgiveness because they are Catholic, he said. A particular challenge right now, he said, is resolving the problems of immigration "through laws that recognize immigrant people as human beings with rights and duties."
The shortage of Hispanic priests is not just in the United States, the archbishop said. Mexico has about 10,000 priests for 100 million Catholics, compared to 40,000 priests for nearly 70 million Catholics in the United States. Previous generations of immigrants from Europe were able to obtain priests from their home countries to serve their pastoral needs. Because of the shortage of priests throughout Latin America, however, immigrants from those countries have not been able to get comparable numbers of priests from home to serve them. Because many of the new immigrants come from rural areas where the priest shortage is most acute -- where Mass is celebrated perhaps once a month -- they are not schooled in the Catholic faith when they arrive, Archbishop Gomez said. "It is important for us that young Hispanic Catholics continue high school (and) go on to college for the good of society," he said, adding that this would also open the doors for more Hispanic priests.
CNS -- Five boys and two girls, none of whom looked older than perhaps 15, followed the Border Patrol agents' instructions in Spanish obediently.
"Stand over there."
"Go get your backpack."
"Listen to this man, he'll help you get back home."
At the Nogales Border Patrol station a couple of miles north of "the line" with Mexico one Tuesday morning, the seven minors picked up in the desert the night before were being turned over to representatives of the Mexican consulate. The two men would interview the teens and figure out how to get them back to their families.
John Fitzpatrick, patrol agent in charge of the Nogales station, told U.S. visitors who included Catholic representatives that the group of teens typified the number of unaccompanied minors among the hundreds of people picked up nightly in what the Border Patrol calls the west desert, between Nogales and the Yuma County line, east of the California border.
As arrangements were settled to hand the seven youths over, they waited patiently -- with an air of resignation -- in a line just outside several locked holding cells where a few dozen other people watched through thick windows as they waited to be processed. Border Patrol policy barred outsiders from speaking with the teens.
For the U.S. delegation, made up of about 15 people including three bishops and employees of two Arizona dioceses and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, meeting with the Border Patrol Oct. 24 was part of a three-stop introduction to programs run by church groups, the U.S. and Mexican governments and private entities.
The group's focus was on the treatment of minors who cross the border without family members and on victims of human trafficking.
In Houston the next day, the group visited two shelters for juveniles run by the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston and met with representatives of the U.S. Attorney's office and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a part of the Department of Homeland Security. Later in the week, a stop in El Paso brought the travelers to shelters for minors across the border in Juarez run by the Mexican government, the YMCA and the Scalabrinian religious order.
The delegation visiting the Border Patrol station included bishops' migration committee chairman Bishop Gerald R. Barnes of San Bernardino, Calif., committee member Bishop Armando X. Ochoa of El Paso, Texas, and Auxiliary Bishop Jaime Soto of Orange, Calif., a member of the board of directors for the Catholic Legal Immigration Network.
Bishop John B. McCormack of Manchester, N.H., a member of the Catholic Relief Services board, was with the group the previous day when they visited Altar, Mexico, a staging ground for illegal border traffic. He later concelebrated Mass for the group at Mission San Xavier del Bac in Tucson.
A June report for Harvard University's Committee on Human Rights Studies, "Seeking Asylum Alone: Unaccompanied and Separated Children and Refugee Protection in the U.S.," notes that "despite, or perhaps because of, the large number of government actors involved with children in the asylum system, there is a general deficiency of information about them."
The report said 122,222 juveniles were caught by the Border Patrol in the 2004 fiscal year. All but about 19,000 were from Mexico and immediately deported. The remainder were placed in immigration proceedings, which sometimes took months.
Until recently, minors were the responsibility of the immigration service, which sometimes jailed them with adults in prison like conditions.
Now, juveniles unaccompanied by a legal guardian are turned over to the Office of Refugee Resettlement in the Department of Health and Human Services until they can be reunited with family members.
In 2004, the resettlement office had custody of between 750 and 900 minors at any one time, for a total of 6,200 unaccompanied and separated children that year.
Debra Fergus, a child welfare supervisor in a foster care program run by Catholic Charities of the Phoenix Diocese for the federal resettlement office, said the majority in that program are Guatemalan, though she has worked with some from Honduras, El Salvador, Brazil, Costa Rica and Mexico. The program was started in 1986 to aid refugees and was expanded three years ago under the reorganization of federal immigration agencies.
Briefing the border delegation en route to Nogales from Tucson, Fergus explained that time spent in the foster care system is generally a good experience for the young immigrants.
Participants stay for as little as a day but typically for a few months before they are reunited with relatives, she said. During that time they're living in a family environment, going to school, working with a counselor and learning English, and they have someone working on their behalf to make sure their legal rights are protected.
Fergus said it's often not until after the juveniles have been in the program for a few months that they begin to open up and tell how they came to be in the U.S. on their own. Those stories often are critical to how the youths and children are treated by authorities hearing their cases for asylum or other legal status in the U.S.
"If not all, the majority of the kids have witnessed death," Fergus said. "They've had a lot of traumatic experiences that are beyond our comprehension."
Some have been victims of human traffickers, either for the sex trade or as underage labor.
"Whether they're trafficking victims is very difficult to determine," said Fergus. "It's such a secret part of their lives. They're ashamed of what happened, they're scared, they've been threatened." Even youths whose families only owe money to smugglers they hired to get the youngster to the U.S. are fearful for their families, she added.
"We had one child whose uncle was murdered while he was in our care," Fergus said. "These kids feel responsible and they feel guilty."
That's also a problem for the Border Patrol, which has to determine whether young-looking people picked up in the desert are adults or juveniles. Adults remain in jail-like detention while awaiting resolution of their cases and have no right to legal representation. Juveniles are supposed to receive more compassionate treatment and are more likely to have legal assistance provided for them.
Fitzpatrick of the Border Patrol said some minors have been told they're more likely to be released if they say they're over 18. Others think there's an advantage to saying they're Mexican when they're not, or lying about whether they were with someone when they came across the border.
"The challenge with minors is that a lot of them have been coached about what to say by smugglers," said Fitzpatrick. "Sometimes it takes the intervention of the Mexican consul before we get the real story."
Aryah Somers, a staff attorney with the Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project in Arizona, practices what she calls "therapeutic jurisprudence," a combination of legal representation and counseling, for under-age would-be immigrants.
She described a complex web of legal possibilities and pitfalls that await minors. Among options for legally staying in the U.S. might be asylum or a special-status visa for juveniles, or they might fall under laws protecting victims of human trafficking or family violence. But even if the youths have family in the U.S., sometimes family members' illegal status makes them reluctant to come forward to claim their children, lest they be deported themselves, Somers said.
The Florence Project staff also must be sure their young charges understand that sometimes it's in their best interests to accept voluntary deportation quickly. After a 30-day window, Somers explained, deportation orders are considered involuntary and the subject is barred from entering the U.S. legally for longer than if he had accepted voluntary deportation.
CNS - A new study says California's Catholic population is growing by more than 13 percent a year. By 2025, it says, Catholics will make up more than 36 percent of the state's population -- up from 30 percent in 2005.
The forecast is part of a 65-page demographic study conducted for the California Catholic Conference by Seattle-based church researcher Joseph Claude Harris. He said Latino Catholics are driving the state's Catholic population increase, accounting for 80 percent of the church's anticipated growth in California.
Overall, Catholics represent nearly 60 percent of California's projected population growth in the next 20 years, the study said, adding that the growth presents mixed blessings for Catholic leaders. Along with the prospect of many more members comes the challenge of how the church can serve them, especially their sacramental needs.
The state's priest population has been declining, only a handful of new parishes have been created over the past 15 years, and those trends are expected to continue. The study projected that by 2025 the average Catholic parish in California will serve more than 5,500 households, almost 50 percent more than in 2005.
"We are truly blessed that the Catholic Church in California is vibrant and growing, but our future should not happen by accident," said Stockton Bishop Stephen E. Blaire, president of the California Catholic Conference.
"As pastors responsible for the spiritual well-being of our Catholic people, studies like this will help us do what we need to do to better serve the needs of burgeoning Catholic communities throughout the state,β he added.
In terms of sheer numbers, the study paints a picture of vibrant and dynamic growth for the Catholic Church in California:
- The state's total Catholic population will grow by 5.6 million in the next 20 years -- from 11.1 million in 2005 to 16.7 million in 2025. The increase includes 3.5 million from a natural increase -- births in excess of deaths -- and 2.1 million as a result of migration from other states and countries. California's total population is expected to grow from 36.6 million people in 2005 to 45.9 million in 2025.
- By 2025, 4.3 million new Catholics will have been baptized in the state, more than 3.1 million children will have celebrated their first Communion, and the average parish will have expanded by over 1,800 families.
- A major factor driving the growth of the church in California is the increase in its Hispanic population, at least 60 percent of them Catholic by conservative estimates. The four dioceses in Southern California alone will contribute 25 percent of the projected national growth in Catholic Church membership over the next 20 years.
Hispanics currently form about 36 percent of California's population, but that is expected to rise to 45 percent by 2025, Harris said.
He said Catholic parishes in the United States will add 17.4 million additional members over the next 20 years, but that growth will happen "unevenly," with four out of five new Catholics living in the South and Southwest and in the Mountain and Pacific states, while dioceses in the Midwest, Middle Atlantic and Northeast experience slower growth or in some cases even a decline.
"This disproportionate growth will place extraordinary pressures on some dioceses in the region to open new parishes while the number of active diocesan priests continues to decline," said Harris.
He said if the Catholic population of the San Bernardino Diocese in California continues to grow at the rate at which it has grown since 1990, in the next 20 years it will roughly double, from 1.2 million in 2005 to nearly 2.4 million in 2025.
The average parish there now has 12,000 members, or 4,600 households, and that will double by 2025 if no new parishes are formed, he said. The diocese "will need to open five new parishes a year over the next 20 years to merely maintain the present average parish size," he said.
Harris said that from 1995 to 2004 the number of active diocesan priests in California dropped by 202, or an average of 22 a year. This pattern, which shows no signs of changing in the near future, will make it difficult for dioceses to form new parishes to accommodate their burgeoning membership, he said.
"You Could Make a Difference," a 17-minute vocation video and DVD, is available to assist parishes, youth groups and others interested in promoting vocations. The video and DVD, which is in English and Spanish, were developed by the U.S. Bishops' Department of Communications and features a priest from the Archdiocese of Washington, a Christian Brother from Jersey City, New Jersey, and sisters from El Paso, Texas, and Baltimore, Maryland.
Funding for the project was supplied by the Catholic Communication Campaign as part of its It All Starts With Faith campaign and the U.S. bishops' Committee on Vocations.
Information on the video & DVD, a user's guide and excerpts from it can be found at www.usccb.org/vocations/videodvd.htm
Copies of the DVD are available for $10 each and copies of the videocassette are available at $15 each. Each DVD and video includes both English-language and Spanish-language presentations. They can be ordered through the USCCB Communications Department, Vocations DVD/Video, 3211 Fourth St., NE, Washington, DC 20017-1194. Orders should be accompanied by checks payable to USCCB Communications.
CNS - One of the church's newest saints is truly "one of us," Archbishop Jose H. Gomez of San Antonio and retired Archbishop Patrick F. Flores told the Catholics of south Texas.
The two archbishops spoke at a press conference in San Antonio days before Pope Benedict XVI canonized Mexican Bishop Rafael Guizar Valencia, who came to south Texas during his exile from Mexico because of government persecution of the Catholic Church.
"In this man of God we have a jewel -- someone to pray to and to ask for his intercession," Archbishop Flores said. "My prayer is that the people get to know him."
Appointed bishop of Veracruz, Mexico, in 1919 by Pope Benedict XV, the new saint preached missions at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church and San Fernando Cathedral in San Antonio, as well as Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Austin.
At his Oct. 15 canonization, St. Rafael became the first bishop born in the Americas to be declared a saint.
Archbishop Gomez said that when he read the saint's biography in 2001 he saw in the life of the saint a "real source of inspiration" of how to live our Catholic faith, especially for bishops.
St. Rafael still has family living in the San Antonio area. Attending the press conference with the archbishops were Augustin Mora, the new saint's great-nephew, and Tito Guizar Jr., his great-great-nephew.
Archbishop Flores said the life of St. Rafael has become a part of his own, since he now owns the episcopal ring that once belonged to the Mexican prelate.
Consecrated a bishop Jan. 4, 1920, St. Rafael sold his pectoral cross, ring, clothes, shoes and more to provide for the needs of Catholics in his diocese affected by a major earthquake shortly after his consecration.
He was known as "the bishop of the poor" despite personal suffering brought on by diabetes, phlebitis, cardiac insufficiency and extreme obesity.
Evangelization also became a major concern and he rebuilt the seminary, which had been long closed because of anti-Catholic legislation in Mexico.
"A bishop can do without a miter, crosier and even a cathedral, but he can never do without a seminary, because the future of his diocese depends on the seminary," he once said.
The seminary was moved to Mexico City, where it operated clandestinely for 15 years. When the persecution of the church ended, the number of priests in the diocese exceeded the number that were in the country prior to the start of the anti-Catholic period.
St. Rafael died June 6, 1938, and was buried in a simple casket. Twelve years later his casket was exhumed for interment in the cathedral of Veracruz. When laborers lifted the casket above the ground, they discovered the box was free of wood rot.
Upon removing the coffin's cover, the workers found the body of St. Rafael uncorrupted. His body remains in the Mexican cathedral in a glass casket.
CNS--A Mexican-American nun told Hispanic youths not to lose their cultural identity as they become increasingly a part of the U.S. church and society. Hispanics must maintain their cultural heritage if they are to achieve self-esteem and be leaders in a growing cross-cultural world, said Mercy Sister Maria Elena Gonzalez, president of the Mexican American Cultural Center in San Antonio.
Hispanics also must be ready to assume leadership roles in the U.S. church as their growing numbers soon should make them the majority, said Sister Gonzalez. Her cultural center trains people for Hispanic and multicultural ministry.
The aim of Hispanic church leadership should be to "build unity in our diversity," she said June 9 during a keynote talk at the National Encuentro for Hispanic Youth and Young Adult Ministry at the University of Notre Dame.
The June 8-11 "encuentro," Spanish for "gathering," was the first national meeting of its kind. Its theme was "Weaving Together the Future." The bilingual event was organized by the National Catholic Network de Pastoral Juvenil Hispana (of Hispanic Youth Ministry). It was co-sponsored by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Hispanic Affairs, the USCCB Subcommittee on Youth and Young Adults and the University of Notre Dame. About 2,000 Hispanic youths and people involved in Hispanic youth ministry attended.
At regional meetings held in preparation for the national encuentro, many youths cited as important challenges "the need to raise the self-esteem of Hispanic young people and to confront the discrimination that so many of you experience in your schools, neighborhoods, and yes -- even in your families," said Sister Gonzalez."It is a sad reality that even now, in the year 2006, racism is alive and well," she said. But racism is not overcome by abandoning your cultural heritage in an effort to be accepted, she said.
"So many of our Hispanic young people try to fit into the dominant culture by not only leaving their language and culture behind, but also by rejecting it, ridiculing it and even by changing their appearance," she said.
She criticized young Hispanics "who try to lighten their skin, straighten their hair and even wear blue contacts." Such efforts lead "to a profound loss of identity and ultimately a loss of self," she said.
Sister Gonzalez said that she is the daughter of immigrants and went through the same rejection syndrome in trying to adapt to the United States. "I was even embarrassed of my own parents because they did not know any English, were poor and had little education," she said. But "culture is the soul of a people," she said. A person's identity "comes from the core of who you are," Sister Gonzalez said.
Regarding the rapid growth of Hispanics in the U.S., she said that soon "we will become the majority of U.S. Catholics. In many dioceses, the reality of this demographic shift has already happened." This means that Hispanic Catholics need to prepare for leadership roles, she said.
"To be truly effective ministers in today's church, you must become at least bilingual and more importantly become aware and sensitive of your own cultural identity and that of others," she said. "It calls us to move out of our comfort zone and into the unknown," she said. Avoid the temptation "to build a parallel church" just for Hispanics, Sister Gonzalez said. "It is easier to have two youth groups -- one for the English-speaking and the other for the Spanish-speaking, it is safer to be a leader in my own group," she said. "But the call of the Gospel and our bishops is not the easy way."
San Antonio Archbishop Jose H. Gomez, in a June 8 talk, said that Hispanic youths must become "a new generation of disciples." Hispanics should look to the Christian martyrs of Mexico and other Latin American countries, he said, as a source of inspiration in spreading the Catholic faith to others. "We realize that many young people are losing faith. You know people who should be here who are perhaps in a bad situation with drugs. We must be apostles to the people around us," the archbishop said. Archbishop Gomez described the contentious national debate over immigration as a "complicated issue" but one that calls Hispanics to be leaders who raise their voices for justice. "Even many of our Catholic brothers and sisters often forget the need to welcome the stranger. We have to remind them that we are all children of God. We need to fight for laws that respect the dignity of human beings," he said.
Diocese of Richmond, Virginia
The Catholic Diocese of Richmond, Virginia, is seeking a full-time Director for its Hispanic Apostolate. The selected individual will collaborate with parishes and other diocesan offices in the evangelization, formation and training of Hispanics, calling them forth to service and leadership at all levels of the Church and community; promoting the recognition of Hispanic Catholics as integral to the full life of the Church; sustaining, celebrating and sharing the culture, values, language and spirituality of Hispanics with the Church and wider community.
The candidate must be an active practicing Catholic, who has a commitment to the advancement of the Hispanic community; master's degree in a related field preferred; must be proficient in Spanish and English, written and spoken, and computer literate; leadership and organizational skills required, as well as administrative and pastoral experience working with Hispanics; and the ability to work with diverse groups of people. Interested applicants should submit a letter of interest and diocesan application to: , or mail them to:
D.G. Mahanes
Director of Human Resources
Catholic Diocese of Richmond
811 Cathedral Place
Richmond, VA 23220
Diocese of Toledo, Ohio
The Diocese of Toledo is seeking a Diocesan Director for its Office of Hispanic Ministries. Responsibilities include:
Administration, to include pastoral ministry, advocacy and direct services for the Hispanic community; consults and collaborates with diocesan, deanery and parish leadership to develop and implement the long-range pastoral plan for the Office of Hispanic Ministries in the Diocese; ensures the vision and mission as outlined in church documents that address Hispanic ministry are implemented in the Diocese.
Qualifications include: Excellent communications skills in both English and Spanish, a practicing Catholic committed to the teachings and values of the Catholic Church, Master degree in Religious or Pastoral Studies or its equivalent and ability to travel.
Interested persons, please respond with resume, cover letter and salary expectations to:
Human Resources
Catholic Diocese of Toledo
P.O. Box 985
Toledo, OH 43697-0985
Diocese of Rockville Centre, New York
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre is seeking an individual to serve as Coordinator of its Hispanic Apostolate. This individual will be responsible for representing the Diocese and being the primary interface with the Hispanic community.
He/She will be required to: assist the Bishop, Episcopal Vicars, and Vicar to the Hispanic community regarding the pastoral needs of the Spanish-speaking Catholics of the Diocese; research, define and address the needs and concerns of the Spanish-speaking Catholics; and, direct day-to-day operations of the Apostolate, providing long-range planning for this ministry and convening regular meetings of the leadership of all Hispanic ecclesial movements.
Qualifications: Bi-lingual (Spanish/English); degree in Theology and/or pastoral studies; strong pastoral experience in the Hispanic community and strong collaborative skills.
Send cover letter, resume, salary requirements and 3 professional references to:
Office of Human Resources
Diocese of Rockville Centre
P.O. Box 9023 Rockville Centre, NY 11571-9023
Fax: (516) 678-9566
E-mail: HR@drvc.org