No, the problem is that very few Hispanic Catholics actually understand their faith at all. I’m speaking from first-hand knowledge here, coming from a long line of them on my father’s mother’s side. I am continually amazed at how devout the members of my family are, yet have no idea what they believe. My grandmother recently related to me that she had attended a Lutheran church for years after she moved out of her home, because she thought all the churches were the same. I don’t think any of the members of her family have a clue as to what the Real Presence is, or how the Catholic Church is the one true faith. Thus, evangelicals and fundamentalists are finding it incredibly easy to proselytize them.
Agreed. They’re easy targets, and they’re being duped. I’m always more than a tad annoyed by “missionaries” who think make recruiting Catholics out of the One True Church their mission in life.
Boy did you get that right…I am self-taught, with much assistance over the past year from my priest…but had I been taught (and I went through six years of Catholic school and subsequent CCD) then what I know now, I may not have left for 25 years.
where do you think we are missing the boat here, and what do you think is the solution… i only ask you because of your first-hand knowledge… what do you think the church needs to fix, or can we?
BINGO! I live in South Texas. There is no lack of Spanish mass, Spanish-speaking ministries, and priests who speak Spanish fluently. Yet people are converting like crazy. Why? People here (as well as folks in Mexico like my aunts and uncles) were very poorly catechized. So when someone comes up to them and explains that they are “idol worshippers” and need to be “born again” they have no defense! My aunt converted about 14 years ago. Every time I visit her, she hands me Jack Chick tracts in Spanish and explains to me how… well let’s see, the last one told me that the pope was responsible for the Holocaust and that our current pope is a communist (yes, they accuse the man who is perhaps single-handedly responsible for the fall of communism in Poland a communist!). The claims these people make to convert others are outrageous!
This is happening all over Latin America so, I’m afraid it’s not a matter of language. In fact, most of the evangelicals in the US have only English Language services in contrast to the Catholic Churches. All of the Churches in our area offer Spanish language Masses. I’m afraid we’re going to have to dig a little deeper, these superficial answers aren’t going to solve the problem.