Vatican City, Nov 15, 2016 / 01:01 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- In a video message sent to the US bishops' plenary meeting on Tuesday, Pope Francis urged them to continue reaching out to immigrants, especially commending the upcoming fifth national “Encuentro” on Hispanic/Latino ministry.
He said in the Nov. 15 message that while visiting the nation last year, “I was impressed by the vitality and diversity of the Catholic community … In this context, I would commend the coming Fifth National Hispanic Pastoral Encuentro.”
The Church in the US has “welcomed and integrated new waves of immigrants” throughout its history, he noted, adding that “in the rich variety of their languages and cultural traditions, they have shaped the changing face of the American Church.”
The Encuentro is a multi-year process meant to improve the quality of ministry among Hispanic Catholics, and is a priority for the US bishps' strategic plan. It involves missionary activity, consultation, leadership development, and pastoral discernment.
The process will culminate with a national event held in Dallas in September 2018.
The Pope stated that “in continuity with its predecessors, the Encuentro seeks to acknowledge and value the specific gifts that Hispanic Catholics have offered, and continue to offer, to the Church in your country.”
“But it is more than that. It is part of a greater process of renewal and missionary outreach, one to which all of your local Churches are called,” he added.
Hispanics now constitute 40 percent of Catholics in the United States, and more than 50 percent of the nation's Catholics under age 35.
The Pope reflected that the Church's “great challenge” is “to create a culture of encounter, which encourages individuals and groups to share the richness of their traditions and experiences, to break down walls and to build bridges.”
Pope Francis said the Church “is called to 'go out' from its comfort zone and to be a leaven of communion … among ourselves, with our fellow Christians, and with all who seek a future of hope.”
“We need to become ever more fully a community of missionary disciples, filled with love of the Lord Jesus and enthusiasm for the spread of the Gospel,” he stated. “The Christian community is meant to be a sign and prophecy of God’s plan for the entire human family. We are called to be bearers of good news for a society gripped by disconcerting social, cultural and spiritual shifts, and increasing polarization.”
Francis hopes that the Church in the US “will accompany the Encuentro with its own reflection and pastoral discernment.”
“In a particular way, I ask you to consider how your local Churches can best respond to the growing presence, gifts and potential of the Hispanic community. Mindful of the contribution that the Hispanic community makes to the life of the nation, I pray that the Encuentro will bear fruit for the renewal of American society and for the Church’s apostolate in the United States.”
The US bishops' first Encuentro took place in 1972, while the fourth was celebrated in 2000; a youth version was held in 2006.
Article Archive
Pope Francis encourages US bishops in ministry to Latinos
Related Articles • More Articles
The "Holy Fire" is passed from inside Christ's tomb to pilgrims gathered inside the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher in Jersusalem on May 4, 2024, for the annual Orthodox Christian ceremony, held on the day before Easter, according to the Julian calendar. / Credit: Marinella Bandini/CNAJerusalem, May 5, 2024 / 09:00 am (CNA).Pilgrims gathered in Jerusalem on Saturday for the annual "Holy Fire" ceremony at the revered site of Jesus' burial and resurrection, an ancient custom considered by many believers to be a miraculous event that takes place the day before the Orthodox Christian celebration of Easter.For safety reasons, attendance at the May 4 event was capped at 4,200 people inside the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher, though the crowds were more manageable and somewhat subdued this year because of a lack of pilgrims from the Palestinian territories and abroad due to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.Israeli police man a checkpoint inside the Old City of Jerusalem duri...
Pope Francis greets the crowd gathered at St. Peter's Square on May 5, 2024. / Credit: Vatican MediaVatican City, May 5, 2024 / 09:30 am (CNA).Pope Francis asked for a moment of silence as he spoke from the window of the Apostolic Palace on Sunday for people to thank the Lord for their friends. The pope reflected on the gift of friendship during his Regina Caeli address on May 5."Since childhood, we learn how beautiful this experience is: We offer friends our toys and the most beautiful gifts; then, growing up, as teenagers, we confide our first secrets to them; as young people we offer loyalty; as adults, we share satisfactions and worries; as seniors, the memories, considerations, and silences of long days," the 87-year-old pope said."The word of God, in the Book of Proverbs, tells us that 'Oil and perfume make the heart glad, and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel' (Prv 27:9). Let us think a moment of our friends and thank the Lord for them."S...
Archbishop Filomeno do Nascimento Vieira Dias of Angola's Archdiocese of Luanda. / Credit: Radio EcclesiaACI Africa, May 5, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).Archbishop Filomeno do Nascimento Vieira Dias of Angola's Archdiocese of Luanda has asked the people of God under his pastoral care to dedicate the last Sunday of the month to adoration of the Blessed Sacrament as part of the preparations for the Church's 2025 Jubilee Year. Pope Francis on Jan. 21 announced the start of a Year of Prayer in preparation for the Church's 2025 Jubilee Year, the second in his pontificate after the extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy in 2015."Following the Holy Father's call, as an archdiocese, we will be holding adoration of the Blessed Sacrament on the last Sunday of each month in all parishes and, in alternate months, a meditation on the importance of prayer in the life of the Church," the archbishop said in his April 18 message.Eucharistic adoration, he said, facilitates "a true encounter with Chri...