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Hispanic Ministry
at the Turn of the New Millennium
A Report of the
Bishops' Committee on Hispanic Affairs
Most Reverend Gerald R. Barnes, Chairman
National Conference of Catholic Bishops
November 1999
Hispanic Ministry at the Turn of the New Millennium is the summary report of two research projects commissioned by the Bishops' Committee on Hispanic Affairs in the name of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Part I of the report consists of data obtained from a national survey of diocesan bishops. Part II consists of data collected from a survey done of diocesan directors for Hispanic ministry. Both parts I and II of the report were conducted and written by Stewart Lawrence of Puentes, Inc. Funding for these two parts of the report came from the Catholic Bishops of the United States. Part III of the report consists of information obtained from on-site interviews with some of the bishops in the dioceses visited, clergy and religious, diocesan staff members, and lay leaders from eight dioceses in different parts of the country. The on-site interviews were conducted by Rev. Raϊl Gomez and Dr. Manuel Vαsquez, in conjunction with the Life Cycle Institute of the Catholic University of America. Funding for the on-site interviews was provided by the Louisville Foundation.
Data collection and pastoral planning among Hispanic Catholics in the United States have traditionally taken place through a process known as encuentro. Consultation is an integral part of encuentro. It is a unique process in that the historic memory and gifts of each participant are respected and integrated into a prayerful and action oriented two-year process that involves tens of thousands of Church leaders from throughout the country. Encuentro promotes evangelization and the mission of the Church. Pastoral priorities established by the delegates, under the leadership of the U.S. Bishops, are then implemented by Church leaders in the parishes, dioceses, regional offices, national ministry offices, and Catholic organizations.
In commissioning this national study of diocesan bishops and Hispanic ministry directors, the Committee on Hispanic Affairs saw the need to continue to collect data on the U.S. Hispanic Catholic presence. Given that the process for Encuentro 2000 is multicultural in nature and catechetically based, the traditional form of consultation did not take place. As a result, the Bishops' Committee determined that a national study would be imperative to getting information that might further Hispanic ministry efforts in the United States. With Funding from the U.S. Bishops, the Committee on Hispanic Affairs contracted with the Life Cycle Institute of the Catholic University of America to help gather the data.
The data shared in this report consists of three parts. The first part of the study is of U.S. Bishops who responded to a series of questions about their perception of pastoral ministry among Hispanic Catholics. The second part is of coordinators and diocesan directors of Hispanic ministry from 150 dioceses. The third part of the study, which was done independently and funded by the Louisville Foundation, consists of information obtained from interviews in eight different dioceses. The participating dioceses were located in different parts of the country and involved different nationalities of the Hispanic Catholic community. Clergy, religious, lay leaders, and parish and diocesan personnel participated in the interviews. Additional information on the Hispanic population growth by diocese is included in Appendix B.
The Hispanic Presence at the Turn of the New Millennium is a report that can be used by bishops and diocesan staff for pastoral planning. As the Hispanic Catholic population continues to grow, and as the many faces of the Church become more apparent, there will be many challenges to respond to in building the one body of Christ. Much has been done in Hispanic ministry, but there is still much more to be done. The challenge in the next several years will be to respond to the Hispanic presence in context of a multicultural Church.
It is the hope and expectation of the Bishops' Committee on Hispanic Affairs that the information in this report will be helpful and useful as the Church strives to assure all of God's people are invited to the Father's table.
Total Population of US Hispanics:
Percent of US Population:
Percent of US Population Under 25:
Hispanic Percent of US Population in 2010:
Black Percent of US Population in 2010:
Percent of Hispanic Population, Native Born (1980):
Percent of Hispanic Population, Native Born (1990):
Percent of Catholic Growth Since 1960 (Due to Hispanics):
Percent of Catholics Who are Hispanic:
Percent of Hispanics Who are Catholic (1994):
Percent of Hispanics Who are Catholic (1998):
Number of Parishes With Hispanic Ministry:
Percent of Parishes With Hispanic Ministry:
Number of Hispanic Priests:
Percent of Hispanic Priests in the US:
Catholics per US Priest:
Hispanic Catholics per US Priest:
Number of Hispanic Seminarians:
Hispanic Percent of U S Seminarians: |
|
30 million
11.3 %
14 %
13.8 %
12.6 %
80 %
64 %
71%
30-38 %
71 % (low)
77 % (high)
67 % (low)
71 % (high)
3,617
17.9 %
2,005
3.8 %
1,230
9,925
511
11.1 % |
- The Questionnaire
The questionnaire for bishops contained 11 questions. The first 4 questions asked the bishop if he was satisfied with the performance of Hispanic ministry in his diocese, whether the ministry's programs were, in general, effective, and which areas of ministry he believed had been the most and least successful. Two questions asked the bishop to describe the gifts and contributions of Hispanics to the larger church and to assess, in his view, whether other Catholics understood and appreciated these gifts. A separate list of questions established a checklist of potential challenges in Hispanic attitudes as well as shortfalls in diocesan resources. Other questions focused on the role of popular religiosity and the lay apostolic movements, and the bishops' ideas for increasing the visibility and leadership of Hispanics in his diocese.
- Overview of Results
The responses indicated a generally high degree of satisfaction with the current development of Hispanic ministry, coupled with a recognition that much more could and should be done. The bishops ranked faith formation among Hispanics as the number one priority for the future. Second on their list was continued outreach to Hispanic immigrants, primarily through parish-based renewal and Catholic radio and television programs.
The following is a question-by-question breakdown of the responses to the bishops survey. As indicated, the bishops' responses to several survey questions varied sharply by episcopal region. These important regional differences should be kept in mind when assessing the general results.
Question 1: Is Hispanic ministry meeting your personal expectations?
| Yes |
|
63.7% |
| No |
26.5% |
| No Answer |
9.7% |
Variation:
Regions 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 10, 11 and 13 answered yes by an overwhelming margin.
Regions 7, 8 and 12, on average, answered no.
Responses from regions 5 and 9 were mixed.
Question 2: How would you rate the effectiveness of Hispanic ministry?
| Very Effective |
|
10.6% |
| Effective |
67.3% |
| Not effective (yet) |
22.1% |
Variation:
Regions 2, 3, 6, 10, 11 and 13 tended to answer effective or very effective.
Regions 1, 4, 5, 8, 9 and 12 were more evenly divided between effective and not effective.
Region 7 tended to answer not effective.
Question 3: Please rank order the areas of Hispanic ministry that are most in need of improvement in your diocese.
(Ranked No. 1)
| Formation programs for Hispanic laity |
|
38.1% |
| Pastoral outreach to Hispanic immigrants |
28.3% |
| Sacramental preparation in Spanish |
11.5% |
| English language training for Hispanics |
10.6% |
| More social services to Hispanics |
10.6% |
| Other |
0.9% |
Variation:
Formation was ranked the top program priority in 8 of the 13 regions (2,3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, and 13)
The five exceptions were regions 1, 4, 7, 9 and 11; in these regions, formation or pastoral outreach was ranked first.
Only 29 bishops (25.7%) in the entire survey ranked formation as less than first or second in importance.
Sacramental preparation was most frequently ranked second in importance in regions 4, 7, 8 and 9.
English language preparation ranked as a higher priority in region I I than elsewhere.
Question 4: Which aspects of Hispanic ministry do you feel have been most successful?
Pastoral outreach, including more
Spanish masses |
|
42.5% |
| Formation of lay leaders |
28.3% |
| Social services |
20.4% |
| Liturgical celebrations |
20.4% |
| More Hispanics in leadership positions |
12.4% |
| Youth programs |
7.1% |
Variation:
Region 5 and (especially) region11 were the most likely to list "pastoral outreach" as an area of success.
Regions 6 and 10 were the least likely to list this area.
Regions 1 and 2 were most likely to identify "social services" as an area of success.
Regions 2 and (especially) 10 were the most likely to list "lay leadership formation" as a success. Regions 3, 4, 6 and 11 were somewhat less likely to do so. Regions 7, 8 and 9 were highly unlikely to list this area.
Region 10 was the most likely to list "more Hispanics in leadership positions" as a success area.
Question 5: What are the most important gifts and contributions that Hispanic Catholics bring to your diocese?
| Family strength and values |
|
59.3% |
| Strong faith |
47.8% |
| Ethnic traditions and customs |
35.4% |
| Love of celebration |
31.0% |
| Popular religiosity |
17.7% |
| Community spirit |
13.3% |
Variation:
A majority of the bishops in 8 regions listed "family strength and values" as an important gift of Hispanics to the church. The 8 regions were 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10 and 11.
Only 3 regions (5, 8 and 11) were likely to identify "strong faith" as another one of these gifts. Less than 50% of the bishops in the other regions listed this trait.
Region 10 was the most likely to list ethnic traditions and customs and love of celebration as Hispanic gifts to the church.
Most of the bishops who identified popular religiosity as a gift are based in regions 3 and 11. However, the vast majority of bishops in each region did not identify popular religiosity as a gift.
Question 6: Which of the following descriptions apply to your diocese?
- Most Hispanics have need of solid catechetical formation
- Hispanics do not contribute their fair share to the parishes which serve them.
- We need more Spanish language masses and other Spanish programs.
- We have a shortage of Spanish-speaking priests, sisters and deacons.
- Hispanics are highly susceptible to evangelization by non Catholics.
- Hispanics often do not feel welcome in their parishes.
- Most non-Hispanic priests in my diocese are not prepared to work effectively with Hispanics
Variation:
Most bishops in most regions say that Hispanics need more solid catechetical formation. However, most of the bishops in region 3 disagree.
Most of the bishops in 10 regions feel Hispanics contribute their fair share to the parishes. However, most bishops in regions 2, 10 and 12 disagree.
There is a wide diversity of opinion on the need for more Spanish masses and programs. Regions 4, 5, 8, 9, 10 and 13 overwhelmingly say yes, regions 1, 3, 6 and 12 overwhelmingly say no. Regions 7 and 11 are more mixed in their views.
All regions say they need more Spanish-speaking priests, though this is less the case in regions 3 and 9.
Nearly all of the bishops in regions 5, 10, 11 and 13 say that Hispanics are susceptible to evangelization by non-Catholics.
Bishops in regions 2, 3, 4 and 6 are somewhat less likely to say this. Bishops in regions 1 and 12 disagree with this statement.
Region 3 is the only region where most of the bishops believe that non Hispanic priests are ready to work with Hispanics.
Question 7: Are "popular" religious expressions, such as home altars, devotion to the saints and street processions, an important part of being Catholic in the United States?
| Yes |
54.9% |
| No |
27.4% |
| Not sure |
17.7% |
Variation:
Regions 1, 2 , 10, 11 and 13 overwhelmingly say yes. Opinion is highly mixed in the other regions, but regions 5 and 12 generally say no. Those who are unsure predominate in regions 3 and 7.
Question 8: Some priests and laity complain that Hispanic apostolic movements function too independently from local parishes. Do you feel that this is a problem in your diocese?
| Yes |
12.4% |
| No |
73.5% |
| Not sure |
14.2% |
Variation:
This distribution is consistent across all regions
A total of 14 bishops believe that the apostolic movements are too independent. Most of these bishops oversee large dioceses with large numbers of Hispanics and have a long history of Hispanic ministry. Five of these dioceses are in the West and Southwest.
Question 9: Which of the following programs should be expanded to foster the practice of faith among Hispanic Catholics?
- Catholic radio and television programs (bilingual).
- Priest home visits
- Neighborhood "base" communities
- Bilingual masses in public squares and stadiums
- Religious processions through local neighborhoods
- Parish "renewal" programs
- Ethnic "sensitivity" training for non-Hispanics
Variation:
Regions 6 and 9 were not receptive to expanded media programs, and region 3 had mixed opinions. All of the others expressed support.
Regions 5, 11 and 12 were opposed to priest home visits. Most other regions had mixed opinions.
Regions 4, 10 and 11 were overwhelmingly in support of promoting Hispanic base communities; regions 5, 6, 7, and 9 were also generally supportive. However, regions I and 2 were opposed and opinions in region 3, 8 and 12 were mixed.
More public masses and religious processions appealed primarily to region 1.
Regions 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13 were most in favor of parish "renewal" programs. Regions 2, 3 and 8 were least in favor of these programs. Opinions in regions 4 and 5 were mixed, but on balance these regions were also in favor.
Ethnic sensitivity programs were strongly endorsed by regions 7,8, 9, 12 and 13. Regions 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, and 11 had mixed opinions but a slim majority in 2, 4, 10 and 11 were in favor. Only region I was opposed to such programs.
Question 10. What should be done to enable Hispanic priests and laity to assume more visible leadership roles in your diocese?
| Trained Hispanics need to make themselves more available |
|
13.8% |
| Invite more Hispanics to serve |
20.4% |
| Appoint Hispanics to councils |
17.7% |
| Expand training and education programs |
25.7% |
Variation:
Bishops in regions 4 and 11 were more likely to support expanded training and education programs. Bishops in region 5 were more likely to view the issue as a question of utilizing existing talent.
The most striking result is the low percentage of bishops who offered an opinion on this issue.
Question 11: How well do other Catholics understand the needs, contributions and gifts of Hispanic Catholics in your diocese?
| Very well |
0.9% |
| Somewhat well |
40.7% |
| Not very well |
58.4% |
Variation:
Bishops in regions with higher numbers of native-born Hispanics (8, 10, 11, 12 and 13) tended to say that other Catholics understood Hispanics "somewhat well."
By contrast, a strong majority of the bishops in regions 2, 3, 5, 7 and 9 answered "not very well." Results for regions 1, 4, and 6 were mixed.
Hispanic Ministry Offices
The good news ..
- 44 Hispanic ministry offices have been created or upgraded in the past nine years. Most of the new offices have their own budgets and have access to the bishop directly or indirectly through an episcopal vicar or through another high official in the chancery.
- Hispanic ministry budgets have increased in over 80% of the dioceses with a history of Hispanic ministry. The total funds expended on Hispanic Ministry in 1998 surpassed $10 million, with an average budget of about $125,000 per diocese. Between 1990 and 1998, the rate of increase in the Hispanic Ministry budget was higher than the rate of increase in the total diocesan budget in nearly 60% of the dioceses.
- Hispanic ministry staffs have nearly doubled since 1990. The average full-time staff has grown from 1.7 persons per diocesan office in 1990 to 2.6 persons per diocesan office in 1998. The average part-time staff has grown from 0.2 persons per diocesan office to 0.8 persons per diocesan office. In addition, the number of regular volunteer staff per office has more than tripled during this period.
- Hispanic ministry directors are more educated and professional than ever before. 60% of the directors have earned at least one master's degree, 25% have attained a bachelor's degree, and 8% have a doctorate. Most directors are foreignborn Hispanics, but nearly all are fully bilingual. A director's average term in office is between 5 and 6 years.
- About 55% of the Hispanic ministry directors say their diocese is providing "a lot" of support for their work. Currently, over 25% of the directors are focused on obtaining more Hispanic priests and religious; 20% are seeking to establish leadership formation institutes and other formation programs for Hispanics; 14% are attempting to strengthen parish-based organization.
The challenges ...
- Ten or more Hispanic ministry departments or offices have been dismantled or downgraded since 1990. These include offices in dioceses with large numbers of Hispanics and a long history of Hispanic Ministry. In addition, several dioceses have been without a Hispanic Ministry coordinator for over a year and in some cases, over two years, and at least two dioceses have yet to establish an office despite the fact that their Hispanic populations are among the fastest-growing in the country.
- Most Hispanic ministry offices remain subsumed under another diocesan department and are supervised by that department's director. This arrangement generally lin-fits the visibility and access of Hispanic ministry in the diocese. The most frequent departmental "home" for Hispanic ministry is the Office of Pastoral Services or the diocesan Pastoral Center (28.3%). The next most frequent sites are Catholic Charities (15.2%) and Multi-Cultural Services (13.0%).
The good news ...
- A growing number of dioceses have created new structures for Hispanic ministry at the regional or deanery level. Some of these dioceses have also hired Hispanic staff in other departments to work closely with Hispanic ministry in a "pastoral de conjunto." About 28% of the dioceses have two or more departments with at least one staff person assigned permanently to Hispanic ministry. About 18% of the dioceses have three or more offices with staff persons so assigned.
The challenges ...
- Collaboration between Hispanic ministry and other diocesan departments tends to be limited in duration. In the vast majority of dioceses, this collaboration occurs on a project basis, if at all. The only two offices that maintain a consistent or ongoing relationship with Hispanic ministry are the Office of Religious Education (primarily for sacramental preparation) and Catholic Charities. About 50% of the diocesan directors for Hispanic ministry report having no ongoing relationship with the diocesan offices for pastoral planning, evangelization, family life, liturgy, adult education, and pastoral care to migrants and refugees. Project-based collaboration occurs in about a third of these cases.
- Most dioceses do not conduct pastoral planning for Hispanics on a consistent or regular basis. Although 70% of the dioceses reported having adopted a pastoral plan for Hispanics as of 1990, only 45% meet at least yearly to review and revise the plan's implementation. About 27% of the dioceses with a history of Hispanic ministry do conduct pastoral planning for Hispanics on a regular basis; however, another 28% have never conducted such planning.
The good news ...
- Hispanic ministry's "presence" at the parish level has grown by almost 50%. In 1990, Hispanic ministry was present, on average, in 18 territorial parishes and 0.66 national parishes per diocese. In 1998, Hispanic ministry is present in 26 territorial parishes and 0.77 national parishes per diocese.
- The recognition of Hispanics as a "presence" in local parishes has increased. About 18% of all Catholic parishes have a significant Hispanic presence. Of these parishes, 25% are "integrated" parishes, with Hispanics and other Catholics jointly administering parish life. In addition, 50% of these parishes offer religious education to children in Spanish, and about 37% offer religious education to adults in Spanish.
The challenges ...
- Most Hispanics continue to worship in "mixed" or "parallel" parish settings. These settings allow Hispanics to maintain their own identity and culture, but the administration and life of the parish is divided into separate, and at times, highly unequal spheres. Most Hispanics attend their own masses in Spanish, usually at non peak times, and not always in the main church sanctuary. In addition, Hispanics rarely have the same level of representation on the parish pastoral council as non Hispanics, and frequently rely on volunteers to manage their own parish programs.
- Most Hispanics are not receiving culturally sensitive programs in their parishes. Less than a third of the parishes with a significant Hispanic presence offer youth ministry, RCIA, lay leadership training, parish renewal, or (Cursillo) retreat programs in Spanish. Only 13% are developing Christian "base" communities for evangelization and outreach to Hispanics. In addition, about 21 % of all Hispanic oriented parishes offer no Hispanic programs aside from the liturgy and mass in Spanish.
The good news ...
- Language and cultural training for priest candidates has increased in recent years. In 1990, only 18% of the dioceses offered "English as a Second Language" programs to Hispanic seminarians; in addition, only 31% required their non-Hispanic seminarians to study Spanish. By 1998, the number of dioceses offering ESL to Hispanics had doubled, and the number requiring non-Hispanics to study Spanish had increased by 67%.
The challenges ...
- The number of new Hispanic vocations remains low. The growing pool of male Hispanic newcomers is a potential source of new energy for the priesthood. However, education, language and cultural barriers continue to limit their entry into seminary. Among the native-born, new opportunities for social advancement outside the Church, coupled with a lack of active recruitment in the parishes, has led to a decline in Hispanic vocations to the priesthood. In the Northeast alone, the number of Hispanic seminarians has declined 64% since 1983.
- Continuing education in Hispanic ministry for non-Hispanic priests and sisters is on the decline. In 1998, far fewer U.S. religious are taking courses in Spanish or studying Hispanic faith culture. For example, in 1990, 9% of priests and about 6% of sisters nationwide were studying Spanish; in 1998, the combined figure for all religious was under 4%. The percentage of U.S. religious engaged in studies of Hispanic devotions and sacramental life has declined by well over 50%.
The good news ...
- Hispanics already active in the church have increased their levels of participation. 70% of the diocesan directors report that Hispanic men are more active in their parishes than in 1990. Much of the credit is due to the expansion of the lay apostolic groups, particularly the Cursillo and the Charismatic Renewal. 77% of the directors also report that Hispanic women are in higher positions of diocesan and parish leadership than in 1990.
- 43% of the dioceses administer a separate lay leadership institute or lay leadership program for Hispanics. Most of these new programs focus on the formation of leaders for parish ministry, though a few offer opportunities for advanced training and education. Some, and perhaps most, were established with assistance from regional training centers such as the Southeast Pastoral Institute, the Mexican-American Cultural Center, and Northeast Institute for Pastoral Formation, as well as smaller institutes such as Kino and Tepeyac.
The challenges ...
- The level of Hispanic leadership in the dioceses remains low. 63% of the diocesan directors said their diocese was "not doing enough" to encourage Hispanics to become leaders; however, 60% also acknowledged that most Hispanics still lacked the leadership skills and experience to serve in diocesan administration. 63% of the dioceses with Hispanic ministry have no Hispanics in management positions in the central offices and 73% have no Hispanics in the management of Catholic Charities.
- Hispanic programs are most effective with Hispanic adults who speak Spanish. Only 18% of the diocesan directors said their diocese was not effectively reaching Spanish-speaking adults. However, 37% of the dioceses are not reaching Spanish speaking youth; 43 % are not reaching English-speaking Hispanic adults; and 5 1 % are not reaching English-speaking Hispanic youth.
The good news ...
- Small faith communities of various kinds are proliferating among Hispanics. The most popular by far is the charismatic renewal, followed by the Cursillo, the Movimiento Familiar Cristiano and the Talleres de Oraciσn. Charismatic Renewal is active in 36% of the parishes with a significant Hispanic presence. Cursillo is active in 31 %, and Talleres de Oraciσn in 17%. Conflicts between the dioceses and the leadership of these groups have generally been resolved or muted in recent years.
- A growing number of dioceses are supporting Catholic media programs in Spanish. While support for Catholic television programming in Spanish has declined in most dioceses (due to cost), support for radio and print media in Spanish has increased. About 40% of the dioceses publish diocesan newspapers, newsletters or newspaper inserts in Spanish. About 40% of the dioceses also produce weekly or daily radio programming in Spanish. Some of the radio programming is jointly supported by dioceses in the same region.
The challenges ...
- The effect of proselytism on Hispanics appears to have increased dramatically in recent years. In 1990, only 12% of the diocesan directors said that the religious activities of Protestant groups were affecting Hispanics to "a great extent." In 1998, more than four times as many directors (a total of 52%) said that this was true. Many of the newest and poorest immigrants were first evangelized by Protestants in their home countries. However, the effects of proselytism are also being felt among older and more established Hispanics, including baptized but passive Catholics who maintain multiple "affiliations."
- Christian "base" communities have declined in importance as a small faith experience among Hispanics. Base communities, which are intended to orient Hispanics to faith-based social action, were identified in past "Encuentros" as a top priority for Hispanic ministry. However, only 15% of the diocesan directors said their office was devoting significant attention to this area. Some of the newest immigrants from Mexico and Central America are participating in authentic base communities, particularly male migrant workers who feel isolated in rural areas. However, base communities established in more concentrated urban areas have frequently withered, due to a lack of focus and ongoing coordination.
The Hispanic Reality At A Glance
Estimates for the total US Hispanic population in 1998 and 2010 are from two sources: the U.S. Census Bureau, which produces annual estimates based on the 1990 Census; and Strategy Research Corporation, which conducts telephone surveys in major Latino markets every two years. See, for example, The Hispanic Market, 1998. Census estimates and other Census data are available on-line at: http://venus.censtis.gov/cdrom/lookup.
Figures on the Hispanic native-born and foreign-born are from Jorge del Pinal and Audrey Singer, Generations of Diversity: Latinos in the United States (Wash., DC: Population Reference Bureau, 1997).
Estimates of the percentage of Hispanics who identify as Catholic are from two sources: the General Social Survey, as tabulated by the National Opinion Research Center in Chicago; and telephone surveys conducted by Strategy Research Corporation. Estimates for Catholic population growth due to Hispanics since 1960 and the current percentage of Catholics who are Hispanic are presented in The Hispanic Market 1994, published by Strategy Research Corporation.
Figures on US priests, seminarians and parishes are from the Official Catholic Directory (1998) and the Catholic Almanac (1999).
Review of Findings
Information on the educational backgrounds and salaries of diocesan directors of religious education was; obtained from a 1998 report by the National Conference of Catechetical Leadership, entitled, National Profile of Diocesan Directors of Religious Education, by Thomas and Rita Walters. The report also provided the estimate for the percentage of DREs who are Hispanic.
Information on the number of seminarians in the Northeast region in 1982-1983 was obtained from a twovolume study by the New York Archdiocese's Office of Pastoral Research, entitled Hispanics in New York. Religious, Cultural and Social Experiences (New York: Office of Pastoral Research, 1982).
Summary and Reflections
Data comparing poor Hispanic and poor non-Hispanic participation in Catholic schools can be found in Joan Moore and Harry Pachon, Hispanics in the United States (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1985), p. 157, The recent study at Catholic University was by Stewart Lawrence and is a chapter in the forthcoming book, The Present Role and Future Impact of Catholic Schools, James Youniss, ed. (New York: Teachers College Press). Data on the Hispanic percentage of services provided by Catholic Charities were provided by Dr. Sheila Jones, research director of Catholic Charities, USA.
Institutional Histories
Diaz-Stevens, Ana Maria. 1994. Oxcart Catholicism on Fifth Avenue: The Impact of the Puerto Rican Migration on the New York Archdiocese. Notre Dame: IN: University of Notre Dame Press.
Dolan, Jay and Allan Figueroa Deck. 1994. Hispanic Catholic Culture in the U.S. Notre Dame: IN: University of Notre Dame Press.
Dolan, Jay and Gilberto Hinojosa, eds. 1994. Mexican Americans and the Catholic Church, 1900-1965. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press.
Dolan, Jay and Jaime Vidal eds. 1994. Puerto Rican and Cuban Catholics in the US., 1900-1965. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press.
Horgan, Paul. 1975. Lamy of Santa Fe. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
McNally, Michael J. 1984. Catholicism in South Florida, 1868-1968. Gainesville: University of Florida Press.
Sanchez, George J. 1993. Becoming Mexican American: Ethnicity, Culture and Identity in Chicano Los Angeles, 1900-1945. New York: Oxford University Press.
Sandoval, Moises. 1990. On the Move: A History of the Hispanic Church in the United States. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis.
Weyr, Thomas. 1988. Hispanic U.S.A.: Breaking the Melting Pot, New York: Harper & Row.
Local and National Surveys
Doyle, Ruth and Olga Scarpetta, eds. 1982. Hispanics in New York: Religious, Cultural and Social Experiences, Vols. I and 11. New York: Office of Pastoral Research and Planning, Archdiocese of New York.
Gonzdlez, Roberto O. and Michael La Velle. 1985. The Hispanic Catholic in the United States: A SocioCultural and Religious Profile, New York: Northeast Catholic Pastoral Center for Hispanics.
Grebler, Leo; Joan Moore; and Ralph Guzman. 1970. The Mexican-American People. New York: The Free Press.
Greeley, Andrew. 1997. "Defection Among Hispanics," America, September 27.
Greely, Andrew. 1988. "Defection Among Hispanics," America, July 30.
Markides, Kyriakos and Thomas Cole. 1985. "Change and Continuity in Mexican-American Religious Behavior: A Three-Generation Study," in Rodolofo 0. de la Garza, et al., eds. The Mexican-American Experience: An Interdisciplinary Anthology. Austin: University of Texas Press.
Moore, Joan and Harry Pach6n. 1985. Hispanics in the United States. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
O. de La Garza, Rodolfo. 1992. Latino Voices: Mexican, Puerto Rican and Cuban Perspectives on American Politics. Boulder: Westview Press.
Pefialosa, Fernando and Edward McDonagh. 1966. "Social Mobility in a Mexican-American Community," Social Forces, 44.
Ethnographic Studies
Adams, Anna. 1997. "Brincando el Charco/Jumping the Puddle: A Case Study of Pentecostalism's Journey from Puerto Rico to New York to Allentown, Pennsylvania," in Edward L. Cleary and Hannah W. Stewart-Gambino, eds., Power, Politics and Pentecostals in Latin America. Boulder: Westview Press.
Betances, Samuel and Cristobal Berry-Caban. 1979. "The Puerto Rican Full Gospel Church of' Milwaukee." Unpublished manuscript.
Bums, Allan 1993. Maya in Exile: Guatemalans in Florida. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
Earle, Duncan M. 1994. "Constructions of Refugee Identity: Guatemalan Mayas in Mexico and South Florida," in Linda Camino and Ruth Krulfeld, eds., Reconstructing Lives, Recapturing Meaning. Basel: Godon and Breach.
Garcia, Maria Cristina. 1996. Havana USA: Cuban Exiles and Cuban Americans in South Florida, 1959-1994. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Levitt, Peggy. 1998. "Local-level Global Religion: The Case of U.S.-Dominican Migration," Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 37, 1.
Poblete, Renate and Thomas O'Dea. 1960. "Anomie and the Quest for Community: The Formation of Sects Among the Puerto Ricans of New York," American Catholic Sociological Review, 21,1.
Sexton, Patricia. 1965. Spanish Harlem: An Anatomy of Poverty. New York: Harper & Row.
Tweed, Thomas. 1997. Our Lady of the Exile: Diasporic Politics at a Cuban Catholic Shrine in, Miami. New York: Oxford University Press.
Vlach, Norita. 1992. The Quetzal in Flight: Guatemalan Refugee Families in the United States Westport: Prager.
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Popular Religiosity and Folk Religion
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Vidal, Jaime. 1989. "Popular Religion in the Lands of Origin of New York's Hispanic Population," in Ruth Doyle and Olga Scarpetta, eds., Hispanics in New York: Religious, Cultural and Social Experiences, Vols. I and 11. New York: Office of Pastoral Research and Planning.
This part of the study was commissioned by the Bishops' Committee on Hispanic Affairs of the U.S. Catholic Conference in the spring of 1998. It seeks to provide qualitative information to supplement the survey of diocesan bishops and directors/coordinators of Hispanic ministry also commissioned by the committee on the same year. The intent of this aspect of the research was to help corroborate the findings of the quantitative study. Using a series of questions in English and Spanish, the interviews were conducted between the fall of 1998 and the spring of 1999. Diocesan bishops who were available were interviewed, as well as diocesan directors of Hispanic ministry, chancery officials, pastors, pastoralists, and laity. In addition, efforts were made to attend at least one Spanish-language Mass in a parish setting.
The methodology of the study included meetings of the researchers with research advisors and experts from The Catholic University of America and the National Conference of Catholic Bishops/United States Catholic Conference to discuss variables, goals, and procedures. Eight dioceses were selected for four-days on-site visits by the researchers. Each researcher was assigned four dioceses. Separate test visits to two of the eight dioceses were conducted in the fall of 1998 by the researchers. A follow-up meeting to discuss the experience and to improve the methodology took place in December 1998.
The eight dioceses selected provided major characteristics necessary for a well-rounded picture of Hispanic ministry in the United States. These characteristics include: 1) an active and well-established Hispanic ministry office or director, 2) rural and urban ministry either in different dioceses or in the same one, 3) representative of the different geographical regions of the U.S., 4) a diversity of Hispanic national/cultural groups, and 5) a variety of approaches to Hispanic ministry. In addition, it was decided to include dioceses that are less well-known for their Hispanic ministry efforts and experience. Because research has recently been done on the Midwest region, it was decided to visit two dioceses in the Far West.
The eight dioceses visited were Brooklyn (North East region), Ft. Worth (South West region), Omaha (North Central region), Orange (Far West region), San Jose (Far West region), Santa Fe (Mountain States region), Seattle (North West region), and Tampa-St. Petersburg (South East region). Estimates of the Hispanic Catholic populations in these dioceses range from 30% to 80% and include representatives from every Spanish-speaking nation in the world. Nonetheless, the majority population of most of the dioceses visited is Mexican; followed by Mexican-Americans, Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, Cubans, and Central Americans depending on the diocese. Some dioceses had been actively involved in the encuentro process from its onset and others have been beneficiaries of the process. Some dioceses are far advanced in Hispanic Ministry and its integration into the total pastoral efforts of the local church. Others are in the beginning stages of establishing an office, developing of a local pastoral plan, and training pastoral leaders to help meet the needs of the growing Hispanic community. The dioceses have done a good job of hiring well prepared directors and staff members and some have even hired parish pastoral ministers.
The majority of Hispanics in the dioceses visited can be classified as poor and lower-middle class, although there are substantial numbers of families who are economically and educationally well-off. This number is increasing slowly. Nonetheless, Hispanics tend to fill the lower echelon of jobs in the service, agriculture, food processing, and manufacturing industries. There is much mobility as people seek better jobs, better housing, and greater freedom from immigration officials. They are affected by many problems including low wages, unsafe working conditions, and long hours.
Certain characteristics were frequently cited by informants as troublesome. These include the arrival of young men who come to earn money to send home and who find themselves in an environment they do not understand. In some cases they might even get into trouble with the law. They tend to work in service jobs although some work as farm workers or in non-skilled construction or factory jobs. Some are married and have left their spouses and children in their homelands; at times they begin to live with other women and have children by them, thus, creating two families: one in the US and one in their homeland. A related characteristic is the number of marriages requiring validation or regularization. Many pastoralists describe the great need among Hispanics for basic catechesis and instruction in church doctrine. Others describe the alienation caused by church regulations for baptisms, first communions, quince aρos celebrations, and marriages as well as those caused by requirements for parish registration prior to the reception of key sacraments or social services. Another troublesome characteristic is the "second generation syndrome:" many of our informants were at a loss as to how to minister to the growing group of Hispanics who either speak no Spanish, tend to drop out of school, have poor self-esteem, or feel uncertain about their identity. Finally, conflict among different generations of Hispanics, including different immigrant waves and national groups, is a growing concern.
Despite these concerns, Hispanics in these dioceses are creating a resurgence of the Catholic Church in some parishes which the number of Catholics was decreasing. There is evidence of vibrant parishes marked by both a rich liturgical and devotional life as well as participation by Hispanics in formation and ministerial programs. Many Hispanics are energized and motivated to participate in the life of the parish by their activity in Charismatic Renewal and other prayer groups and in the different apostolic movements. They have a great thirst for knowledge of the Bible as well as for leadership formation. In many of the dioceses visited, the Hispanic community has led to a renewal of devotional practices and to an increase in parish activities centered on spiritual development. Women in particular are volunteering, and at times being hired, as pastoral assistants in the areas of catechesis as well as general pastoral ministry. Men and women are participating in continuing education programs. The Church, by means of activist priests and others, has been particularly adept at raising the consciousness of the Hispanic community. Many Hispanic Catholics are now participating in political and social activities that serve to make the community more visible and thus more credible to the dominant culture. In general, Hispanics both appear to be both in need of the Church's ministry and ready to take leadership in ministering to their own and others.
- Leadership development and formation
All the dioceses visited exhibited a shortage of Hispanic leadership at all levels. While the shortage of priests is a generalized problem throughout the country, the lack of Hispanic priests is particularly challenging, given demographic trends. Informants frequently stated that their greatest need was for Hispanic priests, who, among other things, could celebrate the Mass and perform sacraments in Spanish. Often times the few Sunday masses in Spanish are too crowded, forcing people to stand in the aisles and at the back of the church, where they cannot feel truly welcomed.
To respond to the shortage of Hispanic priests, some of the dioceses have invited priests from Latin America. This strategy has some important implications, not all necessarily positive. For instance, many of the priests who come to this country end up staying, leaving dioceses in Latin America even more strapped for resources. Conversely, because many of the Latin American priests come to minister specifically to Spanish-speaking populations, they end up not learning English, thereby failing to reach English-speaking Hispanics and other members of the parish. This, in turn, can lead to the segregation of Spanish-speaking Hispanics from the rest of the Church. Moreover, many Latin American priests bring models of pastoral work and understandings of church which may be at odds with the parish life and experience of U.S. Latinos. This difference can lead to priests taking insensitive positions towards the local populations.
In the absence of Hispanic priests, informants consistently expressed their desire to have more bilingual priests, who can not only "read" the mass in Spanish but, more importantly, imbue it with the deep spirituality and joy that characterize Hispanic Catholicism. Wbile all of the informants appreciated the sincere efforts made by nonHispanic priests to overcome the language barrier, there was agreement that what is needed are priests who can understand and cherish the living culture and spmtuality of Hispanics. Such an understanding emerges only out of an attitude of conversion to the Hispanic condition and, thus, it is not necessarily tied to a particular national or ethnic origin. In fact, in some cases, having Hispanic ancestry did not automatically guarantee a greater openness towards substantial sectors of the Hispanic population. On the other hand, some informants mentioned the need to be vigilant less the Church fall into a paternalism of love a kind of overly protective ministry to Hispanics by non-Hispanics. This attitude can end up, as an unintended consequence, thwarting the development of Hispanic leadership within the Church.
At the level of the laity, shortage of leadership is due to serious deficits in formation and training. While many of the dioceses we visited have made the formation of lay leadership a priority, there are often administrative constraints that limit the access of Hispanics to seminaries, institutes, and other leadership initiatives. Given the high dropout rate among Hispanic high school students, the requirement of having completed higher education tends to exclude many potential candidates from important positions of leadership (for example in the chancery). Many times those excluded are the Hispanics who are most involved in the life of the parish. This situation not only leads to the loss of committed leadership for the Church but also creates feelings of rejection among active members of the laity. A related problem is the failure to tap into lay leaders who have had extensive training in Latin America, simply because they do not have the right credentials in the United States.
The challenge of lay leadership goes beyond numbers. Even when there are trained lay leaders in the parish, it is not uncommon for them to be marginalized or delegitimized by priests, who feel threatened or might not be willing to decentralize some of the pastoral work. Unfortunately, the laity can also play a negative role here, as they often prefer dealing with priests instead of permanent deacons or lay ministers. One leader stated "for us the priest's word is what counts; the lay person, no matter how well prepared, has no credibility."
One final element within this heading is the intense desire of the Hispanic laity to receive proper biblical formation. One informant put things starkly: "the sects are eating us alive, simply because we don't know the Bible and when they cite it to us, we get all confused and don't know how to respond, to defend our faith."
- Incorporation versus assimilation
There is an on-going tension between those who propose that the best way to bring Hispanics into the Church is by assimilating them into mainstream Catholicism and culture in the United States as fast as possible, and those who advocate that true incorporation requires that Hispanics be welcomed first on their own terms. Assimilationists tend to favor programs and pastoral activities underlining the need to learn English and U.S. customs right away. In contrast, the other position contends that forcing Hispanics to assimilate immediately only reproduces their subaltern status within the Church. Lacking the training and internal community resources, they are often assimilated in marginal positions. In this view, it is first necessary for Hispanics to feel that the parish is their home, and this requires providing special services, often in Spanish. Once Hispanics feel invested in the Church, the task of identifying and forming leadership begins (also in Spanish). Once the Hispanic Catholic community has gained sufficient strength, then and only then, can one talk of its incorporation into the larger parish. Critics of this gradualist view of incorporation often claim that there is a danger of making the same mistakes of the past, of producing exclusionary "mini national parishes" that divide the Church.
With some dissenting voices, particularly in the Northeast, the consensus was, that given the increasing cultural and ethnic diversity within the Church, it is not advisable to go back to the national parish model. Most of informants endorsed the idea of a multicultural Church. However, tensions arose around how to construct a truly multicultural Church. The dioceses visited encompassed, sometimes uncomfortably, some pastoral leaders who advocated rapid assimilation and others who defended gradual incorporation. These tensions often colored the work of the diocesan Office of Hispanic Ministry (OHM). In fact, in some instances, the Office of Hispanic Ministry functioned as a parallel mini-chancery, a fact that gave it some autonomy but also isolated it from the rest of diocese. At other places, the OHM was dissolved and its various members re-assigned to diocesan offices such as youth outreach and religious education, mostly as assistants, raising the issue of subordinate assimilation.
- The Tension between multiplicity and unity in the parish
Among Hispanics, the parish structure finds itself under challenge by a complex host of social and religious variables. First, the increasing differentiation and mobility of the Hispanic population severely strain parish resources. Parishes tend to be overwhelmed by the massive influxes of Latinos, often coming from countries and cultures previously not present in the area. This is the case of some parishes in the Northeast which have witnessed the rapid growth of Mexican immigration in the past ten years. It is not uncommon for newer waves of Latino immigrants to appear as soon as parishes have readjusted their resources and outreach work. All the while, the formerly new immigrants may have moved to another parish or diocese, as they stabilize their condition or search for new jobs. Furthermore, parishes also have to contend with migration from nonLatinos as well as the gentrification of urban areas. All this fluidity and fragmentation challenges the parish to continue to anchor self and community life.
A second challenge to the parish is the internal multiplicity of pastoral models, including traditionalist, reformist and transformative approaches, which often co-exist without clear, overarching coordination. Often times, parishes choose to privilege one approach, leaving significant areas of pastoral work unattended. This, in turn, creates resentment within certain sectors of the parish population. More specifically, for all their valuable contributions, apostolic movements can be a source of potential intra-church division. Often they adopt a quasi-sectarian attitude, focusing single-mindedly on their own activities and growth and neglecting the welfare of the parish. Given their success among Hispanics, apostolic movements tend to see themselves as holding the right way of being church. This attitude can set these groups against those in the parish who are involved in other pastoral approaches and even against each other. This division, in turn, makes coordination of Hispanic ministry more difficult.
- Increasing Hispanic diversity
The last three decades have seen an increasing differentiation in the Hispanic population, especially along lines of nationality, class, and race. New waves of immigration from Latin America have posed many challenges to Puerto Ricans, Cuban-Americans, and Mexican Americans, the most established Latino immigrant groups. While the latter have generally extended a warm reception to the newer arrivals, In some cases, belonging to the parish community is determined by time of arrival. As a result, newly arrived immigrants, who often come in large waves, are treated like foreigners, outsiders, taking away valuable resources from the locals without contributing anything to the Church.
The existence of multiple nationalities in a single parish sometimes also leads to other types of tensions. Since there is a close link between the construction on nationhood and local forms of popular Catholicism, each Latino nationality brings its own way of celebrating collective identity, including particular Catholic rituals and beliefs. Sometimes, national differences dovetail with affiliation to particular apostolic movements (for example, Cubans tended to be more present in the leadership of the Cursillo movement, while Puerto Ricans more often involved with the Charismatic Renewal), increasing tensions among various pastoral approaches. When the Church fails to recognize these important national and ethnic differences among Latinos or dismisses them by simply appealing to the fact that "we are all Catholic," conflicts may even become more polarizing.
In addition to divisions around nationality, recent changes in the economy have led, on the one hand, to the formation of a growing Latino middle-class and, on the other, to persistent poverty in large sectors of the Hispanic population. This widening gap has important implications for pastoral work. As one of informants shared: "two populations are particularly vulnerable to evangelical Protestantism. One is the recently arrived immigrant, many of them very poor, who get lost in the U.S., with no one to care for them. The other [group] is made up of middle class Hispanics, who have been here for a long time and have felt the great pressure to assimilate. These people are attracted to Protestant megachurches where the gospel of health, wealth, and wisdom. is preached. There they find justification and celebration of their upward mobility. There, they find the personal therapies to deal with their family and work problems."
There is a similar tension in the Southeast, where there is a widening gap between upwardly mobile, urban and white Cuban-Americans and mostly poor, mestizo, rural workers in peripheral areas. With this example, the issue of race and ethnicity is introduced as a potentially divisive force among Latino Catholics. This issue was not restricted to one part of the country. There is a large migrant farm population working in the flower, f1ruit, and food processing industry. These immigrants are mostly Amerindians from Southern Mexico and Central America, who do not speak Spanish, although they are identified as Mexicans by the locals. On top of the usual racism experienced by other Hispanics, these immigrants also suffer discrimination by earlier arrivals, often on the basis of their ethnicity and socio-economic status.
- Intergenerational conflicts
Intergenerational conflicts crystallize around second generation Hispanics, a group that is bound to continue growing as the newer immigrants from the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Central and South America begin to settle in the United States. Second generation Hispanics have pressures and predicaments that are specific to their condition of being simultaneously in two worlds. On the one hand, they have been brought up according to Latin American ideals and norms, which have defined their parents' lives. On the other, they have had to construct their own ways to negotiate the challenge of everyday life in this country. Often, the demands of these two identities collide, leading to personal confusion and parent-child conflicts. For instance, it is not uncommon for parents to demand that their children receive religious education and the sacraments in Spanish, despite the fact that many of these children are English-dominant. At the same time, parents have the right and responsibility to be involved in their children's religious education.
A case in point of the particular challenges involved in outreach to second generation Hispanics can be found in dioceses in the Southwest. Some informants believed that the hardest group to reach is the Mexican-American community. According to one pastor, Mexican-Americans have become "too Americanized." While they are generally more economically stable and educated than newly arrived immigrants, they tend to have more broken marriages and divorces. Part of the problem is that they have become "secularized," putting more stress on material goods and social activities than on church participation and spiritual growth. Also the issue of mixed marriages poses a challenge, since it leads many to join the non-Catholic churches of their spouses. Other informants remarked that since second and third generation Mexican Americans are English dominant, many go to English only parishes where they often find a different style of worship that is not as celebratory and community-oriented as that found in Hispanic congregations. As a result, some Mexican-Americans who still speak Spanish might return to the Hispanic parishes, but just to receive the sacraments, and not to be actively involved in church life. Alternatively, they may find themselves without a place in the Church to feel at home.
Highlighting this fact, some pastoral ministers pay special attention to the newly arrived because of their urgent needs, many times leaving second generation Hispanics abandoned.
- The tension between popular religiosity and evangelization
Despite the fact that there has been a clear change in attitudes towards popular devotions since Vatican II, instances of discrimination can still be found. This is evident in practices such as the quinceaρeras and the celebrations organized by brotherhoods around their patron saint. In the eyes of some pastors, popular devotions are nothing more than "a Catholicism of a day" which focus on rituals and symbols, stressing great but isolated moments of fervor, yet failing to translate into deep and lasting spiritual transformation and sustained participation in the life of the Church. Some pastors mentioned that practices like quinceaneras are too time-consuming, especially when there are other more important pastoral needs such as celebrating the Mass and other sacraments.
Many times, appealing to the need to engage in a true evangelization, pastors have sought to eliminate the practices of popular devotion, encouraging people to participate instead in more modern apostolic movements such as Cursillo or the Charismatic Renewal. One pastor shared that popular religious practices should only be used as a stepping stone to greater faith maturity and then dropped. Since popular Catholicism has a long history of resilience and relative autonomy, its rejection and marginalization only serves to alienate Latinos from the Church.
- The tension between a pastoral focus on the sacraments and one stressing social justice.
In spite of the important efforts to link faith and social action through ecumenical church-based organizations, pastoral work among Hispanics has tended to emphasize the sacramental dimension. Furthermore, under pressure by the loss of Hispanics to various religions groups, particularly to evangelical Protestantism, there has been a shift in small faith-sharing communities from social reflection and action, towards an almost exclusive focus on prayer and personal conversion.
There has to be a more concerted effort to respond to issues such as the persistence of racism, the emergence of violent anti-immigrant nativism, the promulgation of unjust immigration laws, and the deepening of poverty among Latinos. These issues affect the fabric of Latino life, dividing families, undermining communities, and force people to focus on everyday survival rather than on practicing and living out their faith. All these social realities make evangelization and the welcoming of Latinos into the Church more difficult.
Even though numerically and in terms of commitment, Latinas are an essential force withing the Catholic Church, they are among the most affected by current socio-economic changes, such as the downsizing of welfare programs. The high rate of female-headed households, with women sometimes working two or three jobs to support their families, is another troubling reality. The situation of Latinas is aggravated by persistent sexism. In the extreme, this sexism can lead to violent subordination of women by their husbands and partners. Special effort should be made to address these issues.
- The existence of a restricted view of stewardship
One problem often found, particularly in places where the Hispanic population is relatively new or poor, is that Hispanics do not feel included in the process of decision-making within the parish. This despite the fact that they maybe numerically the most significant group in the parish. In this type of situation Latinos are more likely to reject efforts to construct a multicultural parish in favor of one that is fully Hispanic, where they can find representation in the various parish structures. As one lay leader put it: "I am discouraged by the fact that we, Hispanics, don't count here in this parish. We come to mass in great numbers and our Masses are really filled with the spirit But all the power is in the hands of a small group of (non-Hispanic] old-timers who contribute a lot of money to the Church."
- Ministering effectively to Hispanic youth
The challenges identified under this heading have to do with the multiple experiences associated with Hispanic youth. Hispanics use the term not just for teenagers but also for young adults, that is, single men and women. In view of this expanded definition, the problem of youth gangs, although prominent in many of the sites visited, is just one of the most visible symptoms of the larger reality faced by young Latinos. This reality includes persistent poverty and lack of employment opportunities, high drop-out rates, racism in schools and job places, the breakdown of Latino families and communities, the pressures to survive in environments often marked by high level of crime, and the ever-presence of a consumerist culture and a culture of violence and death promoted by the entertainment industry.
To deal with all these obstacles young Latinos search for spaces where they can rearticulate their lost family and community. Often, they cannot find this space in the Church, because they are seen by elders with suspicion and bafflement. They then turn, in small but significant numbers, to gangs for the intimacy, loyalty, acceptance, and a sense of pride that the larger society cannot give them.
In many ways, the issues facing Hispanic youth dovetail with those confronting second generation Hispanics, as both generational and age differences are at the core of family miscommunication and conflict. Given the fact that the Latino population in this country is overwhelmingly young (approximately 50 percent are under the age of twenty-six years of age and over 33% under the age of eighteen), the Church ignores Hispanic youth at its own peril.
- The loss of Hispanics to other faiths
According to a recent article by Andrew Greeley (America 09/27/97), the "equivalent of one out of seven Hispanics has left Catholicism in a little more than a quarter of a century. The annual loss is approximately one half of one percent. If this hemorrhage should continue for the next 25 years, half of all American Hispanics will not be Catholic." Greeley estimates that 600,000 Hispanics are lost to the Church every year. This loss, in his view, "exceeds that of early Irish immigrants to the American South. It is the worst defection in the history of the Catholic Church in the United States."
While data available in this area is insufficient at best, there is a generalized attitude of concern among the laity. There were several problems which informants identified as making Hispanics feel not welcomed in the Catholic Church and, as a result, making them more open to alternative religious denominations. Many informants believed that, in contrast to evangelical Protestant churches, excessive administrative tasks and rules in Catholic churches often override a spontaneous, personal, and warm reception. Some Hispanics complained about having to fill out complicated forms and produce evidence of being registered (such as showing contribution envelopes) before they could receive the sacraments. In many of these cases, Catholic ritual becomes almost commodified, subject to a kind of bureacratization that blunts its spiritual power. Often times, rituals and sacraments under these conditions do not serve as the basis for evangelizing, for bringing people closer to the Church.
Finally, other informants reported that Hispanics are attracted to evangelical Protestant churches by a powerful preaching that skillfully links the Scriptures with examples from everyday predicaments and by the notion of church as an extended family in Christ. Family is here equated not only with intimacy but also with a strict ethos that provides clear orientation to its various members.
- Welcoming Hispanics within an increasingly culturally diverse Church
Visiting various dioceses provided an opportunity to better sense the increasing cultural diversity within the Church. In many places, Hispanics worship together not only with Euro-Americans and African-Americans, but also with Haitians, Filipinos, Vietnamese, Polish, and recently arrived Irish Catholics. Often these groups experience a faster upward economic mobility, which translates into influence in church affairs. This leaves many Hispanics resentful, feeling marginalized by the Church. Given the Church's limited resources, the challenge is to welcome and affirm Latino voices without excluding other voices that have also been at the margins of the Church. Put in other words, the challenge is simultaneously to affirm that "we are a church of many faces," with Latinos as an important prophetic presence, and renew our commitment to a common Catholic identity and mission.
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