"Tejiendo el Futuro Juntos…Weaving the Future Together”

JULY 16, 2006

Last month, eighteen bishops serving dioceses throughout the county and I met with 2,300 young adult Catholics for the First National Encuentro with Hispanic young adults. Father Carlos Villarreal and three diocesan staff youth leaders as well as fourteen of our young parishioners represented our diocese at the event. It was held at the sprawling, well-manicured campus of Notre Dame University in South Bend, Indiana.

Its theme, “Weaving the Future Together,” guided our reflection on the role that the Hispanic young Catholics will play in the future of our Church in this country. This is particularly important for us in the Valley, where the median age of our parishioners - most of whom are Hispanic, is twenty-five years. This places a particularly important responsibility of leadership in the Church of the twenty-first century, for the people of our diocese. I was particularly pleased that all but one of our representatives were placed in positions of leadership during this Encuentro.

The process of the Encuentro was inspired by the vision and message of Pope John Paul II, of happy memory. Following the Synod for America, he exhorted us in his apostolic message, The Church in America, to encounter the Living Jesus Christ as the
way to conversion, communion, and solidarity. The late Holy Father insisted that what we call the western hemisphere, from the perspective of the Church, should be considered as one America. This is particularly true in our country, where immigrants from Central and South America fill our churches. I became very aware, during this Encuentro, that Hispanics in the United States are no longer to be found only in the West, Sothwest and Southeast. They are in every diocese in our country.

In our previous document on youth ministry in the United States, we had stated, “Adolescents and young adults today are growing up in a culturally diverse society. The perceived image of the United States has shifted from a melting pot to a multi-hued tapestry” (RVYM, 22) I would now suggest that we must first put together the tapestry of Hispanic youth from all Spanish speaking countries; then we must insert this tapestry into the larger multi-cultural tapestry that represents the Church in America.

Youth and young adult ministry in this context needs to focus “on a specialized ministry to youth [and young adults] of particular racial and ethnic cultures and, at the same time, promote mutual awareness and unity among all young people” (ibid.).

This two-fold commitment to unity in diversity is highlighted by the bishops of the United States when we say that “Ministry in the twenty-first century requires the commitment to welcome and foster the cultural identity of the many faces in the Church
while building a profoundly Catholic identity that strengthens the unity of the one Body of Christ” (E&M #36). In the same document we call all Catholics, especially those already ministering with Hispanic young people and the youth leaders to work together in developing ministerial models that respond to the specific reality of Hispanic Catholic young people in the context of a culturally diverse society (ibid. #70).

The National Encuentro for Hispanic Youth and Young Adult Ministry was the first and necessary step in helping the Church as a whole to understand, embrace and affirm the unique cultural identity, reality and gifts of Hispanic youth and young adults. At the same time, the Encuentro helped identify and/or develop best practices, and the principles and components that constitute a ministry rooted in Hispanic reality in the United States.

The first National Encuentro for Hispanic Youth and Young Adult Ministry used the biblical image of the fisherman’s net, as its spiritual and pastoral motivation. All ministers working with young people are called to take to heart the challenging invitation to “put out into the deep” for a catch—“Duc in altum”— made by Jesus to His disciples and echoed by the late John Paul II in his Pastoral Letter Novo Millennio Ineunte (NMI) –The Beginning of a New Millennium. The net is also a symbol of communion in mission, as we strive to model a shared ministry that makes every single Catholic responsible for the well being of all Catholics.

The Encuentro route took place over an eighteen month period. Tens of thousands of Hispanic young people were invited and engaged in a process of consultation, faith formation, community building and prayer through their parishes, dioceses and regions from throughout the United States, to analyze the reality experienced by Hispanic young people at the local level. The first National Encuentro for Hispanic Youth and Young Adult Ministry was the culmination of parish, diocesan and regional meetings held by the 126 dioceses who sent representatives.

The recommendations of the Encuentro were presented to us, the bishops who were present, at the conclusion of the event. We will present them to the appropriate committees of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops for their reflection and action.

This Encuentro marked a historic moment in the life of the Church in the United States; for the first time, Catholic Hispanic youth and young adults were brought together to share insights and reflections on the important issue of youth and young adult faith formation for a more effective involvement in the life of the Church.

My fellow bishops and I rejoiced at this youthful gathering, as we engaged in a pastoral dialogue with the participants. We happily recognize that their presence among us is a blessing from God to the Church and to the entire country. We look forward, as Shepard’s of the Church, to continue our dialogue with them and to engage them ever more actively in the mission of building God’s Kingdom in our country and in the world


+Bishop Raymundo J. Peña

last updated 05-Jun-2008 9:48 sitemap