V Encuentro Proceedings and Conclusions

Proceedings and Conclusions of the V National Encuentro of Hispanic/Latino Ministry | 51 For the delegates, the journey to becoming a leader in the Church must begin with a pro- found experience of God’s liberating mercy that leads to healing, openness to others, and joy. Pastoral leaders should always be ready to invite Hispanics/Latinos who have experienced God’s healing and love in this way to participate in one ministry or another, because we have all been blessed with gifts to share for the good of the community. Even so, the ongoing formation of leaders is required to sustain a healthy community life. Many Hispanics in our communities already have some tools for intercultural communi- cation, social media, knowledge of Scripture and theology, and a deep understanding of their own history, culture, and religious iden- tity. The Church must invite them to exercise and perfect their gifts to help prepare the next generation of pastoral leaders. Building a better future. As a people, the delegates expressed their hope and dream to be faithful citizens and participants in the life of this country. They look to Catholic Social Teaching as a source of inspiration to become Catholics equipped to make a change in social and political life as missionary disci- ples. As one table group wrote: “Never fear... the Latinos are here and growing!” They want to be bridge people to strengthen the unity between immigrants and those born in the United States, through the joyful witness that comes from proclaiming the Reign of God. For example, one group expressed that they look forward to working with the bishop to develop a strategic plan that will bring to life everything that has been learned through the V Encuentro process, so that this will truly be a living document. Addressing Needs in the Community with the Gifts and Talents of Hispanics/Latinos Discerning and utilizing gifts and talents. The first step toward employing the gifts and talents of Latinos to address the needs and challenges in their communities is to discern the gifts and charisms in the community. To some extent, many of these gifts have been identified through the consultation (see pages 43-44), yet this national-level consulta- tion cannot replace the work of discernment in the local community. Once this is done, it is important to build on those gifts and talents through education and formation of leaders from the basic levels up to university degrees. Institutions of Catholic education could play a prominent role in that process. There are also natural abilities and qualities that should be refined simply by exercising them in com- munity life, such as relational skills, faith and zeal for the Good News, the arts, and ded- ication to communal traditions, to name a few. In this way the Hispanic/Latino people become true servants of the Gospel in their own communities. No gifted charismatic leaders and no amount of formation and education will lead to bear- ing fruit to address the needs in the commu- nity if spaces are not created for the exercise of those gifts. This means that current pas- toral leaders in the Church—whether or not they are Hispanic or Latino—must learn to be good stewards of the gifts present in the Hispanic/Latino community. They are called to recognize, facilitate, and promote gifts of leadership on every level, with a special atten- tiveness to the emerging gifts of the young. The V Encuentro process provides a lived example of how to do this (see Appendix B on Regional Session I