V Encuentro Proceedings and Conclusions

Proceedings and Conclusions of the V National Encuentro of Hispanic/Latino Ministry | 25 IMPORTANT PRINCIPLES OF HISPANIC/LATINO MINISTRY ENSHRINED IN THE V ENCUENTRO • Hispanic/Latino ministry requires the participation of the whole Church—a pastoral de conjunto including parishes, schools, movements, and all diocesan departments. The V Encuentro process created the space and employed meth- odologies that brought together bishops, clergy, religious, and lay leaders in pro- found conversation, discernment, and pastoral action. Likewise, Hispanic minis- try must strengthen ecclesial communion and joint pastoral action between lead- ers and their respective parishes, dio- ceses, and other Catholic organizations and institutions. • Hispanic/Latino ministry promotes a new style of Church through leadership development . Hispanic ministry leaders require a welcoming attitude and the pas- toral skill to invite everyone to participate. Rather than doing everything themselves or jealously guarding their leadership and authority in a group, leaders set an example, then let others take the lead so they can learn by doing. The V Encuentro training set the standard for how mis- sionary disciples would engage others in a process of leadership development through pastoral action, thus promoting a model of leader who knows how to listen, accompany others, and lead by example. • Hispanic/Latino ministry embraces and affirms the cultural identity of Hispanics/ Latinos , meeting them where they are in 3 National Conference of Catholic Bishops , National Pastoral Plan for Hispanic Ministry, n. 4 (1987). terms of their language preference and level of cultural integration. To be clear, the mission of the Church is to evangelize and form in the faith, not to Americanize; it seeks ecclesial integration and inclusion, not cultural assimilation. 3 Thus, Hispanic/ Latinoministry is multilingual andmulticul- tural; it builds community by embracing the traditions and devotions of everyone in the community; and it promotes justice and knowledge of Sacred Scripture. The V Encuentro process implicitly recognized that Hispanics/Latinos are a blessing from God with unique cultural richness and gifts by going out to them and calling on them to respond generously. • Hispanic/Latino ministry flows from pro­ found experiences of encounter —with Christ and with one another—grounded in Sacred Scripture and with a missionary spirit that invites people into community. The V Encuentro modeled this approach by forming small ecclesial communities and involving movements within the par- ish through a methodology of encounter with Christ through Scripture, in the small groups, and with Christ living today in our brothers and sisters in the peripheries. • Pastoral care in Hispanic/Latino ministry is rooted in welcome, listening, and accom­ paniment —not judgment—which is the starting point for the universal call to holi- ness, always seeking personal and pasto- ral conversion. Pope Francis underlined this point in his Apostolic Exhortation On the Call to Holiness in Today’s World ( Gaudete et Exsultate, 60-62), and it was embodied in the V Encuentro through the V Encuentro as a Model and Guide