PROVIDENCE — As the U.S. Catholic Church gears up to start the V Encuentro process in January, the Diocese of Providence is well ahead in the preparation process, with an energized group of leaders of parishes with Spanish-speaking communities who have just completed two diocesan trainings in September and November.
The V Encuentro is a four-year process of ecclesial reflection and action that invites all Catholics in the United States to intense missionary activity, consultation, leadership development and identification of the best ministerial practices to employ in the spirit of the New Evangelization.
Father Nolasco Tamayo, director of the diocese’s Multicultural Ministry which oversees the Hispanic Ministry Office, said, “The main goal of the V Encuentro is to discern ways in which the Church can better respond to the Hispanic presence, and to strengthen the ways in which Hispanics respond to the call to the New Evangelization as missionary disciples serving the entire Church.”
He said that with the blessing of Bishop Tobin, a diocesan team was formed in March with representatives from several diocesan offices, like the offices of Immigration and Refugees, Faith Formation, SPRED, Prison Ministry, Youth Ministry and Hispanic representatives from among deacons and religious life, as well as family retreats, couples ministry, the Cursillo Movement, Legion of Mary, Diocesan Guadalupe Committee, Virgen of Altagracia, and small faith communities and charismatic renewal.
The V Encuentro diocesan team received trainings in May and June together with the diocese of Norwich, and last month was instrumental in helping to facilitate the training of parish leaders.
Recently, Father Tamayo, along with Silvio Cuellar, of the Hispanic Ministry Office, led a presentation about V Encuentro at both the diocesan Priests Council and Pastoral Council meetings.
During these meetings Father Tamayo offered a general overview of the four-year V Encuentro process, and also presented some alarming statistics.
“Even though we have over 140,000 Hispanics in the State of Rhode Island, and 55 percent identify themselves as Catholics, according to recent Mass counts only one in 10 are attending Mass, on a weekly basis.”
He also presented other concerning statistics, with 51 percent of families with children under 18 who fall under the poverty line being led by a single parent.
“We have great hope that the V Encuentro, will help us reach people who are struggling on the margins and are not being serve by any of the 14 parishes with Spanish speaking communities,” Father Tamayo added.
On September 24, and November 12, 125 parish leaders participated in diocesan trainings, to prepare them for the beginning of the V Encuentro to take place in 2017.
The first training was a 2-day session facilitated by Father Tamayo and Father Raymond Tetrault, a diocesan senior priest who was the pioneer who offered the first Spanish Mass in 1969, and the first director of Hispanic Ministry appointed by Bishop McVinney in 1971.
Also presenting during the session were diocesan team members Genesis Flores, from the Office of Immigration and Refuges, and Antonio Andreu Galvan, who is a chaplain in the diocese’s prison ministry.
Dr. Hosffman Ospino, a leading Hispanic Catholic theologian and professor at Boston College facilitated the final training at St. Edwards Parish in Providence on November 12.
During his first presentation he said, “Today, we have 55 million Hispanics, which constitute 17 percent of the entire U.S. population. Hispanics are present in every state, and nearly 30 million identify themselves as Catholics.”
He said that the V Encuentro process has a preferential option for the poor.
“We need to get creative and start new ministries to serve people who are on the margins of society, people that need our support, like families with small children, young couples and others,” he said.
The V Encuentro also has a preferential option for our youth, particularly second and third generation Hispanics.
“The majority of U.S. Catholics under the age of 30 are Hispanic, most of them born in this country,” he noted adding, “There is plenty of evidence that our ministerial structures, including parish youth and young adult programs, Catholic schools, and Catholic colleges, are not doing enough to serve them well.”
Dr. Ospino also said that a preferential option for the family must be added, noting that Hispanic Catholics in general have a strong sense of family life.
“The openness to life in Hispanic families, expressed particularly in the number of children at home, serves as a countercultural sign to what some have identified the “culture of death” in our society,” he said.
But he warned that Hispanic families also struggle significantly.
“There is brokenness in our families, pain when our families are divided because of migratory policies, grief when marriages in our communities fail, and hardship when our families must permanently deal with poverty and marginalization.”
He also said there is reason to be concerned when realities like machismo, domestic violence, and other forms of abuse at home directly affect the lives of many families, particularly women and children.
He said that there is very little investment in ministry to Hispanic families and youth.
“If we do not invest in Hispanic youth, and family ministry now, what kind of Church do we expect to have in 10 or 20 years? Investment in Hispanic youth, and families today is nonnegotiable,” he said.
Galvan, a young Hispanic leader and chaplain in the diocese’s prison ministry said that V Encuentro gives him the opportunity to be part of something historic not only in the life of the local Hispanic community, but of the whole church in the United States.
“This is an opportunity to help, serve my Hispanic brothers and sisters and to get to know other leaders and learn from them,” he said.
Galvan said he appreciated Dr. Ospino’s passion and humor in his presentation.
“He challenged us to be a prophetic voice, and to be protagonists of the present and future of the Catholic Church in the United States,” Galvan said.
“I hope that through this process, we can identify some bilingual leaders who will have a desire to get involved in prison ministry and visit our brothers and sisters who are imprisoned, to recognize this calling and to get committed to serve.”
On November 15, at the annual U.S. bishops meeting in Baltimore, the V Encuentro process was incorporated officially for the next four years in the group’s priorities. On that day, Pope Francis surprised the bishops gathered by delivering a video message of support and encouragement at the end of the V Encuentro presentation at the USCCB gathering. The video was a very well-kept secret, known only to a few members of the V Encuentro National Team.
