V Encuentro Proceedings and Conclusions

20 | Proceedings and Conclusions of the V National Encuentro of Hispanic/Latino Ministry Encuentros of Hispanic Ministry. In 1969, the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB, predecessor to the USCCB) estab- lished the Division for the Spanish Speaking under the auspices of the Department of Social Development. Prior to that time, there were already thousands of dedicated pastoral leaders serving Hispanics/Latinos throughout the country, but they did so largely without coordination or in some cases even aware- ness of one another beyond their diocese. The following brief review of the historical memory of U.S. Hispanic ministry through the lens of the Encuentros outlines the journey by which God has formed and guided this com- munity over the last 50 years. 1972- I Encuentro The I Encuentro dissolved the geographic iso- lation of Hispanic ministry, allowing its lead- ers to come out of the shadows to express the needs, aspirations, and contributions of the communities they served. It called for greater participation of the Spanish speaking in leadership and decision-making roles at all levels within the Catholic Church and for the establishment of structures for ministry to be implemented. 1977 – II Encuentro In the II Encuentro, Hispanic Catholics iden- tified themselves as a community that is diverse yet united in faith, history, culture, and language.  They also discerned a way of being Church based on an ecclesiology of communion and a preferential option for the estranged and those who live in poverty. Through its recommendations, it expressed the desire of grassroots Hispanics for a more responsive, multicultural, spiritually alive, united, and creative Church through a pro- cess of evangelization. Within a few years of the II Encuentro, eight regional structures for the coordination of Hispanic ministry had been formed. 1985 – III Encuentro The III Encuentro was a two-year process that followed the publication of the U.S. Bishops’ pastoral letter, The Hispanic Presence: Challenge and Commitment in 1983. The process involved a large-scale grassroots con- sultation that allowed the Hispanic commu- nity to articulate a clear vision for the Church’s response to the Hispanic presence. This vision was incarnated in the National Pastoral Plan for Hispanic Ministry (1987), which called for a model of Church that is communitarian, evangelizing, and missionary; incarnate in the reality of the Hispanic people and open to the diversity of cultures; a promoter and example of justice; active in developing lead- ership through integral education; leaven for the Kingdom of God in society; and lived and promoted by means of a pastoral de conjunto . Encuentro 2000 Following the promulgation of Pope John Paul II’s Apostolic Exhortation Ecclesia in America, the NCCB published Many Faces in God’s House: A Catholic Vision for the New Millennium in 1999, which served as a parish guide to prepare for Encuentro 2000. Encuentro 2000 allowed leaders of Hispanic ministry to host and share an experience of Encuentro with all of the cultures and races that make up the Church in the United States. The vision of a Church where all are welcome emerged from our most profound identity as a community of mestizos and mulattoes V Encuentro as a Model and Guide