V Encuentro Proceedings and Conclusions

Proceedings and Conclusions of the V National Encuentro of Hispanic/Latino Ministry | 77 Several other recommendations were sur- faced in just a few of the table groups, yet it is worthwhile to mention them. For example: strengthen family unity and communication by supporting the retention of cultural prac- tices, identity, and language; create a dioce- san office of family life to establish guidelines or parameters for this ministry in parishes and to foster formation for pastoral leaders to increase their capacity to respond; develop a ministry of visitation to the elderly and home- bound; work to make Catholic schools more accessible and welcoming to Hispanic/Latino families; promote ecclesial movements with a focus on the family; offer workshops on household finances; and engage youth and young adults both as leaders and participants in every service, program, or activity directed to families. It is also worth mentioning that delegates recognized how important it is for all of the services, programs, and events directed to families to be available in both English and Spanish. D. HISPANIC YOUTH AND YOUNG ADULT MINISTRIES The field of pastoral juvenil hispana has always recognized that the leadership and protagonism of young people in the ministry is an important operating principle, yet this still emerged as the top consensus recom- mendation for these ministries. If the young people are to exercise leadership effectively, they must also receive practical training and pastoral formation for their roles. Some of this can be provided through mentorship and a learning-by-doing approach with support from adult advisers or youth ministry leaders, but these strategies cannot replace actual formation programs, especially for the core teams of young people who are called to serve in leadership of the ministries. With respect to youth ministry, it makes sense for parishes to set a goal to budget for a paid youth ministry leader, and to ensure that he or she has the intercultural and linguistic competencies to accompany and mentor the youth in all sectors of the parish. In most com- munities, a one-size-fits-all approach to youth ministry is not adequate—it has become essential to provide multiple opportunities and a broad range of programs and activ- ities to engage the adolescent members of the parish in a setting that is welcoming and addresses their holistic needs and personal interests. When options are limited it is the young people in greatest need of pastoral care from the Church who are most likely to be excluded. There was a consensus among the delegates that in some parishes it is the pastor himself whohasbecome theprimaryobstaclebecause he refuses to open spaces for Hispanic/Latino youth and young adults to gather and grow in faith and leadership. They recommended ongoing formation for the priests, as well as initial formation for seminarians, to help them understand the importance of the “commu- nity of communities” approach to youth and young adult ministries in the parish. In some cases, it may require advocacy on the part of the bishop to begin to make inroads with the pastors. Ideally this openness to the young would extend to including them in pastoral councils and parish decision-making. Delegates also recommended that dioceses should budget to hire a diocesan coordina- tor of pastoral juvenil hispana . This person Recommendations