By Ruby Thomas, Record Staff Writer
Hispanic and Latino Catholics who gathered for the Archdiocese of Louisville’s VI Encuentro Oct. 6 heard that it was time for their community to ask not what the church can do for them, but what they can do for the church.
The VI Encuentro, held on the campus of St. John Paul II Church on Goldsmith Lane, followed on the heels of the V Encuentro, a national gathering of more than 3,000 Hispanic and Latino Catholics held in Grapevine, Texas, Sept. 20-23.
The archdiocesan event drew more than 200 Hispanics and Latinos, including children, youth and young adults. The theme of the day was “Missionary Disciples,” similar to the theme of the national event which was “Missionary Disciples: Witnesses of God’s love.”
At the day-long local event, participants attended Mass celebrated by Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz and took part in a variety of workshops. Father Rafael Capó, director of the Southeast Pastoral Institute in the Archdiocese of Miami, led a workshop on “Missionary Disciples,” where he talked about the changing face of the Catholic church.
The Catholic church now has a “Hispanic face,” said Father Capó. Hispanics, he noted, make up almost half of all Catholics in the U.S. and Hispanic youth account for the majority of young people in the church, he said. This is not reflected in the church’s leadership, however. That will start changing when the community changes its mentality, Father Capó said.
“This is not a time to ask ‘how will the church evangelize us or how will the church serve us?’ ” said Father Capó. “We’re living in a time when we need to ask not what the church will do for us, but what we’ll do for the church.”
One of the ways to begin this change is within the family, he said.
“Form your children to be a bridge. Prepare that generation to be the leaders we need,” he said, urging his listeners to “take up the torch of evangelization” much like the Hispanic missionaries who came to the U.S. some 500 years ago and started transforming the face of the church.
He said that “new face” of the church was evident during the national gathering in Texas, which Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz and four delegates from the Archdiocese of Louisville experienced firsthand.
Archbishop Kurtz said during an interview Oct. 3 that his time at the V Encuentro was “very, very enriching.”
“The opportunity to see the life, enthusiasm and openness of the church among the Latino community in the U.S. was very encouraging. I’m very hopeful for the opportunity to highlight and celebrate the gifts of the Latino community in the Archdiocese of Louisville,” he said.
The archbishop noted that one of the highlights of the gathering was meeting with youth and young adults and hearing about their “faith and struggles.” That meeting had “a powerful effect,” said the archbishop. He noted that one of his goals is to find ways to “reach out to those who are in the shadows and not comfortable approaching the church.”
One of the young people who attended the Texas gathering was Fermin Luna, a seminarian of Mexican descent in formation for the Archdiocese of Louisville. Luna said he was surprised by the bishops’ interest in hearing from the young delegates.
Hearing the needs of the young people who’d gathered made him realize that “what I’m doing now is needed in the world.”
There was a “spiritual hunger,” said Luna during an interview Oct. 5. Many expressed that young adulthood was a “confusing time” and that they needed “accompaniment” as they go through that phase. Overall, Luna said he felt that participants “walked away with a sense of hope, which is important in light of the crisis the church is going through.”
Father Michael Tobin, pastor of Church of the Annunciation in Shelbyville, Ky., was another delegate from the Archdiocese of Louisville to attend the Texas event. Father Tobin said the V Encuentro highlighted the need to “call forth leaders — catechists, permanent deacons, youth ministers and priests — from the Hispanic community.”
Father Tobin said his parish is comprised of about 1,000 families, almost half of which are Hispanic or Latino. Because their numbers are growing in the church, it’s now “a matter of justice” for more Hispanics to be included in leading the church. The national event gave him a “glimpse of the future,” Father Tobin said during an interview Oct. 2.
Jacqueline Ortiz, a native of Puerto Rico who’s a member of St. James Church in Elizabethtown, Ky., attended the national Encuentro. She said she was affected by the “force” the Hispanic community represents in the church and how much “culture” they bring to the church, she said.
Ortiz said during an interview Oct. 5 she believes “from here forward there’s going to be a big change” in the church.
“It’s only a matter of time before we see more Hispanic representation at all levels of the church. Latinos are finally being heard and taken into account,” said Ortiz. “We are here and willing to serve and give our all to the church.”
Ortiz said the national Encuentro gave her “a lot of energy to reach others. I’m so passionate to let others know there’s a community of people who are humble and afraid to come out, but have many gifts to give.”
