IMAGE: CNS photo/Jaclyn Lippelmann, Catholic Standard
By Norma Montenegro Flynn
WASHINGTON (CNS) — The Catholic
Church needs to walk with and accompany Hispanic and immigrant families, reach
out to youth and young adults, and strengthen faith and leadership formation.
These were the recurring themes
voiced by participants of the episcopal Region IV encuentro held May 19, at The
Catholic University of America in Washington.
As part of the National Fifth
Encuentro process, nearly 100 regional participants — lay and religious
leaders from seven dioceses — from Delaware, Maryland, the District of
Columbia, Virginia and West Virginia, gathered for the day to “encounter,” as
the word “encuentro” suggests, each other and listen to the voices from parish
communities and organizations within the region.
They discerned priorities and strategies
on Hispanic ministry and how to better answer Pope Francis’ call to become
missionary disciples reaching out to those on the peripheries.
“It’s important for us to get to
know the drama, the anxieties of our people to bring the peaceful presence of
Jesus Christ into their lives,” said Auxiliary Bishop Mario E. Dorsonville of
Washington and lead bishop for the Region IV encuentro.
“We have to be able to speak the
same language from soul to soul in order to be able to connect them,” he said
in an interview with Catholic News Service, noting that such accompaniment
doesn’t change through the years.
Participants sharing in small
groups and at-large, widely spoke about the ways Hispanic families need the
Catholic church community to accompany them in their struggles, their desire
for a better and more accessible faith formation, on outreach to youth and
young adults, on family values and on keeping families together.
In a region with high numbers of
recent immigrants, Central Americans who were Temporary Protected Status recipients
and others covered by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA,
many voiced fears of deportation that breaks families apart.
TPS was recently terminated by the
Department of Homeland Security leaving over 300,000 Salvadorans, Hondurans,
Nicaraguans and Haitians facing possible deportations. About 690,000 DACA
recipients are in a similar immigration limbo.
“Over and over, we saw that
specially youth are feeling overwhelmed with the many stresses that they have,
stresses because of immigration issues that affect them directly, especially
those with DACA, those under TPS, and those whose parents, relatives or friends
are undocumented,” said Lia Salinas, director of Hispanic ministry for the
Archdiocese of Baltimore and Region VI encuentro co-chair. “That is a voice
that needs to be heard and that needs to be addressed.”
Proposed strategies to accompany
families include: nurturing families through each stage, helping families integrate
into their communities and following up with pastoral care. They also proposed
to provide support for families who suffer separation and be involved in
advocacy.
As part of advocacy efforts,
many participants signed letters to their senators seeking a legislative
solution for TPS recipients. The letters are part of the Catholics Confront
Global Poverty initiative led by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and
Catholic Relief Services.
Throughout the day, participants
shared priorities and strategies in the ministerial areas of evangelization and
mission; vocations and leadership development; youth and young adult ministry;
family ministry; immigration and social justice; faith formation and catechesis;
intercultural competencies, stewardship and development; and Hispanics and
public and professional life.
Priorities across the different
areas of work included: the need to prepare catechists, priests, deacons and
lay leaders to be multilingual and multicultural to reflect the universal
church, placing greater emphasis on cultural integration and competencies.
“We have to develop the
competencies, they’re very important, but I just want to stress the importance
of developing an open heart,” noted Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore to
participants. He noted that although more needs to be done in the different areas,
the church is headed down the right path.
Other priorities addressed were:
finding ways to strengthen Hispanic ministry by strengthening the formation of
Hispanic leaders; making available training in Spanish and scholarships to
assist those who want to further their formation but lack the resources to do
it; supporting and build up leaders, particularly among youth and young adults;
access to Catholic education for youth, and providing a greater support for families,
single parents and women.
In the afternoon, a group of
bishops or their representatives joined the small group conversations and later
exchanged views and answered questions with the participants.
We’re called to proclaim and
live the joy of the Gospel, we come here today very much aware of the real
struggles that so many immigrants, people, families experience in their lives,
and struggles are difficult,” said Father Thomas Ferguson, vicar general of the
Diocese of Arlington, who represented Bishop Michael Burbidge. “But even in the
midst of carrying the cross or embracing the struggle and the sorrow and the
suffering, it is radiated in this room joy, because we’ve been called by Jesus
to carry out his work.”
Other panel participants were: Archbishop
Lori; Bishop Dorsonville, Baltimore Auxiliary Bishop Mark E. Brennan and Msgr.
John J.M. Foster, vicar general for the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military
Services, representing Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio.
Episcopal Region IV includes the
dioceses of Arlington and Richmond, Virginia; Wilmington, Delaware;
Wheeling-Charleston, West Virginia; and the Washington and Baltimore archdioceses;
and the U.S. military archdiocese.
Participants came from all walks
of life including immigrants and nonimmigrants; ministry leaders from city,
suburbs and rural communities; and leaders of Catholic ecclesial movements,
organizations and institutions.
“We want to in some way continue
the encuentro process in the parishes and the diocesan teams to prepare and
ignite that fire that it’s still there,” said Gabriel Garza, a delegate in the
Archdiocese of Washington, voicing the desire of many to continue being engaged
in the process of leadership, consultation and discernment that the Fifth
Encuentro has begun.
Military spouses and active duty
members stationed in Japan, Italy, Hawaii and the eastern and western U.S.,
also participated in the meeting as part of the delegation representing the U.S.
military archdiocese, which is based in Washington.
The military archdiocese facilitated
access to the encuentro process for Catholics in the military services who
wished to participate.
Zack Mackeller is a senior
airman in the Air Force and became involved after attending a Catholic
conference in Chicago. He represents the voices of young Catholics in the military
and embraces the call to be a missionary disciple.
“I try to engage people as they
are, where they’re at. Just that very
basic, person to person connection, that’s really all you can do. Then the Holy
Spirit will unite people in its own way,” he said.
Recommendations will be included
in a final report, which will form part of the working document for the National
Fifth Encuentro, or V Encuentro, to be held in Grapevine, Texas, Sept. 20-24.
The Region IV participants will
be part of over 3,000 delegates from across the country who are expected to
convene during those four days to discern priorities and develop strategies for
the “Pastoral Hispana,” or Hispanic ministry, in the United States, including
seeking ways to better respond to the call to be missionary disciples.
“Evangelizacion y alegria,” or evangelization
and joy, were the two words of encouragement that captured what Archbishop Lori
wished for the delegates who will attend the National Fifth Encuentro.
The day concluded with a sending-off
Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, with
Washington Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl presiding and Bishop Burbidge, Archbishop
Lori and Bishop Dorsonville concelebrating.
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