Hispanics in Church

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I see nothing wrong with getting that Latino type stuff either. I just hope that charimatic stuff is purged. I a;lso hope the Liberation Theology goes away too. The Article mentions the Latino Catholics are Democrats, this could hint to Liberation Theology.

(No, you didn’t call me pejudiced, I did.)
 
The biggest problem I see in at least my area is that the local dioceses are just trying to catch up with the needs of those who are Hispanic. A friend of mine (Mexican) is one of only 4 Spanish speaking DREs with a degree in the ENTIRE Chicago Archdiocese. I would venture to assume that the same type of problem exists in other dioceses with large Hispanic populations. One needs to know the teachings of the Church in order to teach others and usually the DREs are the ones responsible for that hands on education within a parish. If there is a lack of Hispanics (or fluent Spanish speakers) who are degreed in the teachings of the Church then the other Christian churches (who have many more Spanish speaking leaders) will prey on those recent immigrants who’s local Catholic Church does not have anyone to teach them the Truth in their own language. Many Christian churches even use Our Lady of Guadalupe to lure Hispanics in. Unfortunately many diocese have only recently begun a Hispanic Ministry division and many still don’t have a division for Hispanic Ministry. Also, many good Catholic resources at the local Catholic book stores are not printed in Spanish.
 
gmarie21 said:
If there is a lack of Hispanics (or fluent Spanish speakers) who are degreed in the teachings of the Church then the other Christian churches (who have many more Spanish speaking leaders) will prey on those recent immigrants who’s local Catholic Church does not have anyone to teach them the Truth in their own language.
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I agree.
 
I don’t know. I was just trying to sound smart when I said that.:o
'scuse me.
 
Mexican culture evolved from Spanish culture- a southern European culture that is very personal and enthusiastic. American culture evolved from British culture (generally speaking)- which tends to be more reserved and proper. American Catholic Churches are seriously lacking in the social life of the parish. There are parish organizations, but people generally keep to themselves. Evangelical churches know that community attractis hispanics, so they use that as a conversion tool.
 
I agree that we can benefit much from the influx of diverse ethnicities in our parishes. Here we have a new to us pastor who is 76, who was married most of his life, raised 9 children and after his vife’s death came to the priesthood. He is wonderful.
We have a very young Hispanic priest who came here as a deacon, already through the seminary and after being required to learn English was last year ordained by our Bishop. He is a blessing as well. We also have a Nigerian priest who does speak English well, with a bit of a difficult accent, who is also a gift to us .
We have a large number of Hispanic families in our parish, but the problem is, it feels almost like a paralell parish because we have 3 hispanic masses for them each wkend and they don’t have much to do with the rest of the parish. I know there are some here (anglos) who are happy about that, but most of us would like to see them next to us at mass more often…80 to 90% of them speak English. I don’t like the feeling that our parish is so divided. The resistance is coming from the Hispanic population more than from a few bigots in the parish.
While I think it is a good thing to have masses in Spanish occasionally and our Hispanic priest for their needs, especially confession, etc., I feel that we are not helping them to be part of our parish by keeping everything so separate. Being more accomplished in English can also help them rise in our economy and help thier families.
Years ago, I lived in a parish that did not have the ability to accomodate their language for mass and we all worked together to bridge the gaps and became a very cohesive and close Body of Christ. I find this frustrating and an obstacle to one parish…maybe masses in latin only is the answer!
 
So far, Hispanics have had little effect on day to day parish life. They have their own Masses, RCIA, prayer groups, ect. and they do not mix with the wider parish.
 
Being from Pittsburgh, we have what is probably the smallest Latino population of any of the 30 largest US metropolitan areas. The Pittsburgh Diocese has two Masses each Sunday for the Latino community - one in the city, and one in a rural farming area about 20 miles from downtown Pittsburgh.

The following are my observations from the Mass at St. Hyacinth in Oakland:
They always arrive late to Mass.
They talk out loud in church and the priest has to wait for everyone to pipe down to begin Mass.
There are always small children who run around everywhere.
Some talk during Mass.

It gets to be very distracting.

My wife is Latina and likes the priest who is the chaplain for the Latino community. We usually attend once every other month because my wife likes to pass out EWTN en español brochures.

I do not speak perfect Spanish. I can understand enough of the Mass so it isn’t a problem for me. What I don’t like is the distracting noise and lack of reverence.
I don’t believe most of the Latinos are well taught in the Faith. Then again, there is little that differentiates them from Americans in that regard.
 
One of the beauties of the Catholic Church is that it allows the integration of culture and tradition into the Mass, providing they do not compromise its sacredness. In my experience, as a Latino, the incorporation of the various cultures and traditions within my own community has only enhanced the celebration. The union of our various cultures has not been an easy one, however it has been rewarding. If anything, we have gained from each other.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) recently met here in my Archdiocese. The cardinals and bishops of the United States were exposed to a variety of cultures in my state and received these traditions with zeal. I am surprised that the Church in the USA would be unwelcoming to the “stranger” or “immigrant” or “new-comer” because they do not speak the same language. Nonetheless, the cardinals and bishops of the US embraced the primarily Latino culture of my Archdiocese.

The USCCB conference was private, however, I was fortunate to receive an invitation to the vesper service celebrated in the Cathedral Basilica of the Archdiocese on the final evening of their gathering. Participation was by invitation only. Please note that the celebration I am about to describe was approved by the USCCB.

The service began with the procession of the cardinals and bishops to traditional organ music. Following the procession, a Native American dance was offered as a prayer giving thanks to our Creator. Throughout the service the music was bilingual (English and Spanish). The readings were proclaimed in both languages. The psalms were also prayed in Spanish and English. The gospel, too, was proclaimed in two languages–English and Tewa, a Native American tongue. The homilist was Cardinal Marc Ouellet of Quebec, Canada. After the homily, a representation of a men’s society dating back hundreds of years to Spain offered a traditional prayer of praise and thanksgiving in song, sung in Spanish, of course. The service was extraordinary! The integration of the various cultures drew everyone deeper into the prayer experience.

[SIGN]“Spread love everywhere you go: first of all in your own house. Give love to your children, to your wife or husband, to a next-door neighbor… Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God’s kindness; kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile, kindness in your warm greeting.”

Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta[/SIGN]
So, let us celebrate our diversity rather than lament the differences. We should follow the example set forth by the cardinals, archbishops and bishops of our great country and welcome one another with open arms rather than closing the door. Thank you, to those that have expressed their support of ministering to me and my brethren of different ethnicities.

Imagine where we’d be had the innkeeper not welcomed the “new-comers” and closed the door on Joseph and Mary?

¡Que Dios les bendiga! :crossrc:
 
The majority of the “latinos” are Americans as well as Catholics. Ninety percent of them are Catholic. If you doubt they are American grab a globe and look up both the North and South American continents. There people have been walking on this section of the world long before your first “American” ancestors, unless of course you have indigenous blood in you.

As for the Spanish, you should be grateful to them for spreading Catholicism throughout the U.S. It was the Spanish royalty that financed the Columbus expeditions, not the English, they came later. They also set up the earliest catholic churches in the Americas.
 
It may be that there are weaknesses in Hispanic Catholicism, but it may be that there are even worse weaknesses at present in the Catholicism of Anglos. In fact the Church in the United States (and in Europe) has to some extent undergone a meltdown in many areas, including sexual morality, divorce, authority, failure to go to mass at all, dissent among priests and in religious orders, and, I think, our worship is generally too unemotional. Perhaps Hispanic Catholics often have their problems But isn’t this the human condition? In such a way we are all in the same boat.
 
Califman831, the facts you pointed out about Catholicism in the Western Hemisphere is all too often lost on the vast majority of United States Catholics.

Most of us Catholics in the US have ancestors who came here from Ireland, Italy, Germany or Eastern Europe in the 19th or early 20th centuries. The Church existed in the present day US long before the British set foot here in places like San Juan, Puerto Rico, St. Augustine, Florida, San Antonio, Santa Fe and other places.

There is a disconnect between the Catholic Church in the US and Canada and the Church in Latin America. The problems of the Church here are well known.

The Church in Latin America has often struggled against hostile governments (Cuba and Venezuela today, Mexico through much of its history to give two examples), a lack of vocations (many of their priests used to come from Spain and Portugal, but no more) ministering to a very large poor population, the aforementioned “liberation theology” which afflicts more the priesthood than the laity, and aggressive proselytizing from various American Protestant groups.

The Church in the US has the means to help the Church in Latin America by providing funding for catechetical materials and assistance in building and maintaining church buildings as well as assisting in anti-poverty programs.

Once a year there is a collection for the Church in Eastern Europe and Latin America. I was one of the people who used to throw in a dollar, if that much. I contribute more than that now and if everybody threw in a $10 or a $20 there would be more help for the Church in Latin America - where it was first planted in the Hemisphere.
 
JW10631 said:
Most of us Catholics in the US have ancestors who came here from Ireland, Italy, Germany or Eastern Europe in the 19th or early 20th centuries. The Church existed in the present day US long before the British set foot here in places like San Juan, Puerto Rico, St. Augustine, Florida, San Antonio, Santa Fe and other places.
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This is a first for me… I have never heard of the British setting foot on Puerto Rico and having any kind of authority over it. If anything Puerto Rico was under the dominion of the Spanish Crown until it was lost to the United States in the Spanish American War of 1898.

I think the internet is not the place to really get an idea of just how the situation is for Catholics from Latin America and as bleak as some may want to make the situation I am of the opposite opinion. Being Puerto Rican myself I don’t see the future as bleak… Just a few months back 10,000 Puerto Ricans marched in protest against new proposed laws that would legitimize same-sex marriage. For a tiny island to have the big of a Catholic turn out is nothing to sneeze at…

In my area you have many Catholics from all parts of Central/South America and the Caribbean… They are amongst the most thriving and active of communities in the local Catholic churches right along side with the Filipinos (of which there are many in my city).

Yes, you do have Latino Catholics leaving the Catholic Church but compare that to the numbers of non-Latino Catholics in America that are leaving the church. The state of the Catholic Church in America is worse than in Latin America… At least from my own experience Catholic culture still has a stronger hold in Latin American countries than it does in the Usa… and we all know just how strong the Catholic influence is in America today (sarcasm inserted). :rolleyes:

For me Catholicism will find a renewal through the Latino community in the Usa and through the 3rd world community of Catholics (specifically Africa) worldwide.

I invite anyone to come to Jersey City and see how many priests we have from Africa, the Phillipines and even China serving in our parishes.

God bless
 
Maryam, you misread my post.

My point is - the Catholic Church existed in the present day US long before the British set foot here in the present day US - ***the Catholic Church existed in places such as Puerto Rico, etc.***I never implied that the British controlled Puerto Rico or New Mexico or any of those other places.

The Catholic Church faces difficulties and problems everywhere she exists on Earth. The problems in the USA are different than those in Latin America. To what degree those problems are greater or lesser is something that can be discussed for decades.

You may think I have a cold shoulder to Latin American Catholics. Not true. My wife was born and raised in Colombia. I have had the opportunity to meet several of her friends who live in the USA and Canada, almost all of whom are very good Catholics. Much of Latin America has a Catholic culture that simply does not exist in the US - we rarely have processions on saints’ days, for example, and we in the US tend to be a lot more stoic and detached than Latin Americans.

Thanks to the Spanish Franciscans and Jesuits of centuries ago, the American West was evangelized by the Church. Many Native Americans were evangelized by the Church and to this day, receive better treatment from the Church than from anyone else, as documented in Catholic Extension magazine.

In Coral Gables, Florida, there is a chapel to Our Lady of Charity (Nuestra Señora de Caridad), the Patroness of Cuba. There is a large mural on the wall behind the altar that tells the history of the Church in Cuba, going back to Columbus.

A few years ago in the Smithsonian, there was an exhibit about the state of New Mexico. In the exhibit, there was a sign that many New Mexicans put on their doors. It was a picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe, with the message,
*Este hogar es catolico. No necesitamos informacion de otras religiones.

*We Catholics need to know more of the history of the Church in this Hemisphere.
 
JW10631 said:
Maryam, you misread my post.
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There was no misreading of your post. The way you wrote the sentence **“The Church existed in the present day US long before the British set foot here in places like San Juan, Puerto Rico, St. Augustine, Florida, San Antonio, Santa Fe and other places.” **Made it appear as if after the establishment of the church in these places that the British then set foot in these areas. That doesn’t mean that this is what you meant for it the sentence to imply… 😉 As you have already explained.

And the rest of my post was not directed at you but were my feelings about the thread as a whole. I should have separated my comments to you from the rest of my post… sorry for that…

Being that your wife is Colombian I am assuming that she has a statue of the Divine Nino (Divine Child) in your home? I have yet to meet a Colombian that doesn’t have a devotion to the Divine Child.

I love what you posted about the sign stating: "Este hogar es catolico. No necesitamos informacion de otras religiones." (This place is Catholic. We do not need information about other religions.")

*Hijack over… 😃 *

God bless
 
Qwikness said:
This From the Article on MSNBC
msnbc.msn.com/id/18308301/
Let me just say I don’t want to lose any Latin folks but also I don’t want to change the Mass to keep them…

"Though definitions differ, charismatics generally emphasize an intense personal experience with God and believe the Holy Spirit can work through speaking in tongues, healing and prophecy.

"Luis Lugo, director of the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, said this brand of Christianity, mostly associated with evangelicals, attracts Catholics who don’t feel a strong connection with God through the traditional Mass.

‘“This is introducing a new way to worship, a new way of being the church,” Lugo said. “You could call it bringing the fiesta spirit into the Catholic church.”’

It goes on to say
“The embrace of charismatic Christianity has not turned Catholics into Pentecostal Protestants, however. The survey found charismatic Catholics are even more likely to pray the rosary, go to confession or serve in their parishes, suggesting a strengthening of Catholic identity.”

And Further
“Four out of 10 Hispanic evangelicals are converts from Catholicism, and one in three of these cited the lack of excitement at Catholic Masses”

Maybe since I’ve never seen it I don’t know what I’m talking about.
But I hope Churches don’t start becoming more “entertaining” to keep members.
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amen! you dont go to Mass for excitement, you dont even to go to Mass to get anythiing out of it. you go to Mass to worship God. I think more people should heard that homily where FR Morrow of st peter and paul church in grand rapids. I have too much excitement during my week I ceartainly dont need it at church Mass is to be sacred and solemn. Iff all Masses become charismatic, I may have to go to a stpius society mass just to keep Mass from giving me a migraine.
 
aspawloski4th said:
amen! you dont go to Mass for excitement, you dont even to go to Mass to get anythiing out of it. you go to Mass to worship God. I think more people should heard that homily where FR Morrow of st peter and paul church in grand rapids. I have too much excitement during my week I ceartainly dont need it at church Mass is to be sacred and solemn. Iff all Masses become charismatic, I may have to go to a stpius society mass just to keep Mass from giving me a migraine.
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I go to mass to be lifted up to meet Christ in the Eucharist
“Lift up you Hearts”
“We lift them up to the Lord”
For me music plays a large roll
 
It is curious that one would say that the Church in North America did not suffer all the strife as happened in Mexico and other South of the border countries. The Irish immigrants and other Catholics had to deal with the Klu Klux Klan and the “Know Nothings”, etc. There was a lot of hostility against Catholics as America was pretty strongly protestant while many immigrants were Catholic. The Klan was active as far North as Wisconsin and was not just a southeren thing. Many Bishops brought in European priests who could handle parishes made up of predominately immigrants who did not yet speak English. The Irish, being able to speak English dominated the U.S Church for many years. When I was a kid in the 40’s there were still lots of ethnic parishes and neighborhoods, Polish, Irish, German, Italian, Slovak, etc. Lots of the residents could still speak and understand their mother tongue, but unlike the Latinos. They had to learn English or depend on their kids as translators for government or business interactions. My wife’s family still remembered the days of “No Irish Need Apply.” My own father, who was predominately German, asked my mother and sister, “Why would he want to marry an Irish woman?”

Lets generously greet these new Americans from South of the Border, for our own people were once “Strangers in a strange land.”
 
I’m old enough to remember my Immigrint Itlalian ancestors
Most of which came before the Law in the were changed in 20’s
specificaly to keep them ou… Remember the rise of the KKK in the 1920’s. It was based mostly on a anti-immigrant Anti-Catholic platform.
Even after that Act a few of my relatives found there way into the US via Winsor/Detroit.
They really were not accepted until their sons started dieing in WWII in large numbers.
I admit I have a soft spot for our Mexican friends as a result of my own history. Also the overwhelming majority have the same work ethic as my relatives. My relatives built the New York Sub-way system
The Mexican’s are building the expansion of the South and Southwest US
I would like them to imbrace English mostly for their own sake
But since my Spainish and Italian are pretty bad even though I have been trying to learn. It isn’t easy when you are older.
 
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