V Encuentro Proceedings and Conclusions

Proceedings and Conclusions of the V National Encuentro of Hispanic/Latino Ministry | 123 II. Social and Religious Context in Hispanic Ministry • Low levels of academic educational attainment, as well as language limitations, are factors that must be overcome in the formation of Latino leaders. Pastoral institutes and movements have responded, but much more is needed. • It is urgent to trainmorepriests and seminarians for Hispanicministry, whether or not they areHispanic/Latino. • Throughout the country there was a cry for more support from the clergy—to get involved in the Hispanic community, offer spiritual guidance, welcome different cultures, and encourage the formation of parish leaders. • Trained leaders are needed to serve in the peripheries—especially young leaders—to create new ministries to serve the most vulnerable, and to collaborate in pastoral care. • Many leaders in Hispanic ministry are volunteers while others who do the same work are paid, yet all are expected to be equally professional in their service. • Hispanics and other cultural minorities are being called to ministerial leadership, yet the support is not always there to recognize and help them attain their vocation. • Different cultural groups perceive leadership in distinct ways, and those perceptions have an impact on involvement and response to the invitation to become leaders in the Church. • With so many Latino youth and young adults leaving the Church while older members of the community stay, a leadership vacuum has formed with harmful consequences for the Church’s future. • Not all pastors are aware or convinced of the benefits of investing in staff formation and training for more robust ministerial outreach, as well as conceiving creative, more collaborative means of fundraising. • Many Hispanics/Latinos do not have access (due to distance, resources, etc.) to parishes that provide formation and sacramental services in Spanish or adequate support for their holistic personal development. • The expenses involved in integral faith formation and leadership formation can be a challenge for individuals and families. • Diverse Hispanic/Latino communities in the United States think, feel, and process reality in different linguistic and cultural categories, requiring clergy and pastoral agents who can adapt and welcome the variety of gifts. • Some Hispanic Catholic communities have negative stereotypes about the role of women in the Church that require theological reflection leading to transformation. • Pastors themselves need to experience a good and healthy sense of acompañamiento if they are expected to offer accompaniment to others. • The limited response to calls to the priesthood, religious life, and professional lay ecclesial ministry among Latinos (cf. Appendix E, p. 201) needs to be addressed by giving witness to the giftedness and integrity of those living out their vocation in joy and faithfulness to the Church as body of Christ. • With or without immigration reform, there is a need to empower all immigrants with access, advocacy skills, information, spiritual formation, training, and spaces to exercise their gifts for ministry and evangelization in the Church. • Too often there is an unhealthy sense of competition and conflicts of power between various groups in the Church, requiring a better understanding of pastoral de conjunto and unity in diversity in the formation of leaders. Ministerial Area Sessions