V Encuentro Proceedings and Conclusions

Proceedings and Conclusions of the V National Encuentro of Hispanic/Latino Ministry | 105 V. Resources The following resources were recommended by presenters and participants of the V National Encuentro : • Pope Benedict XVI, Encyclical Letter Caritas in Veritate, 2009. • Catholics Confront Global Poverty (CCGP - https://www.confrontglobalpoverty.org/ ). • Catholic Relief Services ( https://www.crs.org/ ) – Rice Bowl/ Plato de Arroz, Helping Hands, and many other initiatives. • Maryknoll Lay Missioners ( http://www.mklm.org/ ). VI. Ministerial Area Team • Episcopal Moderators: Most Rev. Gregory Parkes, Bishop of St. Petersburg; and Most Rev. Oscar Cantú, Bishop of Las Cruces. • Co-Leaders: Virginia Farris and Roberto Rojas. • Panelists: Rev. Juan Molina, Christopher Ljungquist, Vicente Del Real, Lia Salinas, and Linda Arreola. 11. HIGHER EDUCATION I. Vision Education remains one of the most influential factors in determining social mobility and access to positions of leadership in the Church and in the larger society. Hispanics have made major inroads in this area in recent decades. However, this population still lags behind many groups in higher educational attainment. Hispanic ministry must embrace a larger role in collaboration with parishes, Catholic high schools, colleges, and universities, to create pathways and support for Hispanics in the process of accessing and completing higher education. II. Social and Religious Context in Hispanic Ministry • Currently, only about 18% of young adult Hispanics/Latinos in the U.S. are completing a four-year degree, compared with close to 50% among their white Catholic peers. • Immigration status dynamics such as lack of documents, expired visas, and the uncertainty of federal programs such as DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) and TPS (Temporary Protected Status for immigrants from certain countries) often become obstacles to accessing or completing college. These young people need support and safe spaces to discern how to handle these issues on the way to a degree. • Planning for college does not start early enough in many Hispanic families. Although Hispanics would say that education is important, many families do not encourage their children to even consider college as an option or take the steps to set their children on the path to higher education. • Immigrant parents need a good orientation to the educational system in the U.S. The same is true for U.S.- born Hispanic parents in whose families there have been no university degrees for generations. • Public schools in poor neighborhoods are typically underperforming in their results; the advocacy of the entire community is required to improve the level of teaching. • Close to half of Hispanics who graduate from high school enroll in some form of college educational program, but about half are attending two-year institutions and many will not finish their program. 9 9 Cf. Pew Research Center, “5 facts about Latinos and education,” by Jens Manuel Krogstad (July 28, 2016). Available online at http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/07/28/5-facts-about-latinos-and-education/ . Ministerial Area Sessions