V Encuentro Proceedings and Conclusions

14 | Proceedings and Conclusions of the V National Encuentro of Hispanic/Latino Ministry Process and Methodology United States: our faith communities, our peo- ple, cultural diversity, the desire to build fam- ilies and a society rooted in Christian values, and particularly our young people. But we also know that there are many challenges: the increasing influence of secularization, lack of resources to evangelize, a shortage of pasto- ral ministers to walk with God’s people in their spiritual journeys and their longing for justice, among others. The V National Encuentro is an opportunity for the entire Church in the United States to announce Jesus Christ and his message to Hispanics/Latinos with new ardor, new methods, and new expressions. THE V NATIONAL ENCUENTRO AS A PROCESS OF COMMUNION Many generations of Catholics since the six- teenth century, even before the United States considered itself a nation, have contributed to building communities of faith rooted in the Catholic tradition in what is now the United States. Diversity at all levels has always been part of our experience (i.e. cultural, linguistic, ideological, etc.), and yet there is only one Catholic communion in the country. Today, as the Church in the United States becomes increasingly Hispanic, it is time to exam- ine how Latinos contribute to strengthening that communion. The V Encuentro is a way by which the Church can respond to God’s call for all to live in communion as missionary disciples in light of our shared faith in Jesus Christ, listening to God’s Word, celebrating the sacraments, and affirming the many ways in which God is expe- rienced in lo cotidiano— the everyday. When the Church in the United States embraces the challenge to improve its response to the Hispanic presence and strengthens the ways in which Hispanic Catholics respond to the call to the New Evangelization as missionary disciples serving the entire Church, we expe- rience communion. THE V NATIONAL ENCUENTRO AS A PROCESS OF CONSULTATION As a profoundly ecclesial process of evan- gelization and communion, the V National Encuentro of Hispanic/Latino Ministry engaged Catholics in a process of intentional listening and consultation. In this particu- lar process, such listening and consultation are defined by the location where they take place: the peripheries of family, church, and society. Millions of Hispanics/Latinos live in those peripheries. The V Encuentro is a process that empowers Catholics who already participate in parishes, ecclesial movements, and other Catholic organizations to “go out” to the peripheries where many Catholics live, feeling abandoned, unheard, desolate, and often disaffected. The V Encuentro process preparedmissionary disci- ples in the Church to listen attentively, engage people’s lives, and acknowledge hopes and frustrations. Through this consultation, people in the peripheries of our families, churches, and society—especially the young—were invited to raise their voices to express their hopes and their dreams. The voices and concerns encountered in the peripheries were recorded and discussed by the participants in the five missionary sessions. Parish teams then analyzed and summarized what was heard in the preparation of a Parish Working Document. The missionary disciples