V Encuentro Proceedings and Conclusions

74 | Proceedings and Conclusions of the V National Encuentro of Hispanic/Latino Ministry many of the table groups, was a clear call for comprehensive and systematic pastoral plan- ning for Hispanic/Latino ministry with a strong focus on evangelization and the formation of missionary disciples. Most felt that the priority should be on developing plans at the dioce- san level, through a collaboration between the clergy, lay leaders in the parishes, and leaders from the main ecclesial movements, to assess the needs and develop appropri- ate guidelines and practical responses. This would have the added benefit of bringing the various movements together in harmony—a true pastoral de conjunto —to work toward the same ecclesial vision. These diocesan-level plans would then be implemented in the par- ishes and movements, and the approaches could then be shared in the regions before moving toward a renewed national-level pas- toral plan for Hispanic/Latino ministry. The theme of strengthening missionary disci- pleship as a continuation of the V Encuentro process also emerged as a strong consensus. This will require ongoing formation for all, so that lay leaders can strengthen the min- istries in which they serve with the principles of Hispanic/Latino ministry and so that they can motivate and mentor all of the faithful to respond to the call to be missionary disciples. They see great potential in this approach to transform the life of the Church by doing pas- toral ministry “in a missionary key” as Pope Francis has requested ( EG 33). A real limitation recognized by the delegates is that the leadership of the Church at all lev- els would benefit from a greater understand- ing of the needs and situations, opportuni- ties and challenges that the Hispanic/Latino community faces in its daily life, as well as the practical approaches that work to address those realities. For that reason, they strongly recommended a renewed effort to provide formation to priests, deacons, consecrated religious, and seminarians to help them understand these realities, as well as the cul- tural context, and to strengthen their ability to respond in both English and Spanish. The delegates also called for lay leaders to have the pastoral and theological tools to be more effective, so they recommended the development of a certification process for lay ministers serving in Hispanic/Latino ministry in every diocese, or perhaps in collaboration with neighboring dioceses if that is not yet feasible for some dioceses. Other pastoral and secretarial staff would also benefit from some classes to strengthen their language and cultural competencies. When such posi- tions become available, a priority should be given to hiring people who have already developed those competencies. Beyond these common themes, there were a number of practical suggestions to strengthen the evangelizing mission of the Church that were only highlighted by one or two table groups. Among those are: provide formation on the use of social media to enhance com- munication for evangelization; find ways to bring a focus on evangelization into the cel- ebration of the parish fiestas as well as into every catechetical setting; respond to partic- ular needs in the community such as recovery from addictions, communication in marriage and family life, and visiting the sick or home- bound; welcome and help the recently-ar- rived to find work, education, and faith for- mation, whether or not they are documented; focus on outreach to youth and young adults, taking into account their interests and pref- erences; help parents to make life at home a Recommendations