Q&A: Bishops' Hispanic affairs chair reflects on pastoral plan's priorities, importance

(OSV NEWS) -- On June 9 prior to the passage of the National Pastoral Plan for Hispanic/Latino Ministry by the U.S. Bishops' Conference during its spring plenary assembly on June 16, Bishop Oscar Cantú of San Jose, California, spoke with OSV News about the need for this new plan and highlighted a few key priorities. As chairman of the bishops' Subcommittee on Hispanic Affairs, Bishop Cantú was among the key advisers in compiling the plan. The following interview has been condensed for length and clarity.

Tony Gutiérrez: What are some of the key highlights for this pastoral plan?

Bishop Oscar Cantú: Certainly, the desire for formation at various levels, specific formation in the faith and in skill development, leadership development, specifically for young adults. There's a particular culture for young adults, generally speaking, and particularly for Hispanic young adults. A lot of these proposals and recommendations are already in the works. I'm thinking of the VEYYALI (V Encuentro Youth and Young Adult Leadership Initiative).

The number of vocations of Hispanic priests and religious is not consonant with the number of Hispanics in the United States. So, a recognition of the need to really double down in promotion in a way that's culturally informed, because there are particular realities that are cultural or socioeconomic, and even legal, with regard to the Hispanic community and vocations.

Also, simply outreach to the unchurched -- the need for evangelization and a continued voice in the structures of the church. Many times, there's a vibrant Spanish-speaking community but doesn't have access to the structures, either of the parish or of the diocese.

Gutiérrez: Well beyond a majority of Catholics under 30 are Hispanic or Latino. The numbers are even higher when we look at under 18. (Data shows that about 60% of Catholics under 18 are Hispanic.) We're seeing the shift of the face of the church in the United States shifting towards this new reality. What does that mean for the U.S. church?

Bishop Cantú: The fact that we had 129 bishops present for the National Assembly for the V Encuentro in September of 2018 says volumes that the hierarchy has recognized this presence. It was after the "Summer of Shame" with the (former Cardinal Theodore E.) McCarrick issues and the publishing of the grand jury report from Pennsylvania. The morale of the clergy and of our bishops was at the floor, and it was the Hispanic community that supported us and buoyed us up and really encouraged us to stand strong in our own faith and our leadership.

We had an evening with the young adults -- one key moment of that evening was when the young adults asked to give us a blessing, all of the bishops in the room. So, the bishops bowed, and they prayed over us, recognizing that we were under a lot of stress in that very difficult time for the church. It was a beautiful, powerful moment, and it was emblematic that the young Hispanic Catholics were strengthening us through prayer.

There's a lot of energy there. There's a lot of talent. There's a lot of raw faith and devotion there, that's asking for resources -- asking for support from dioceses, from bishops, from pastors. This plan presents a roadmap for the next several years of how to do that, how to give these young Hispanic Catholics in our country the support that they need to provide the leadership in our communities, our parishes, our dioceses and our Catholic Church in the country.

Gutiérrez: Oftentimes Hispanic ministry has been conflated with Spanish-speaking ministry; that's not necessarily the case anymore. For many younger Hispanics -- such as myself, who grew up here in the States -- we speak Spanish, but English is still our primary language. But there's still a desire to connect culturally. Could you speak to that phenomenon of how the church can reach these English-dominant Hispanics in our country?

Bishop Cantú: We have to recognize a particular care for this group because statistics show that this is the group that begins to drift away from the practice of the faith and association with the church, for various reasons. In our Hispanic ministries we need to offer things bilingually to welcome in those who are more comfortable in English. Structurally, as well, that these Hispanic Catholics who prefer English can worship and engage in their faith through their own culture.

Gutiérrez: What are some practical ways these recommendations can be applied at the parish level, especially for those who may not have a dominant Hispanic ministry or a Spanish Mass presence?

Bishop Cantú: The United States, as it was 300 years ago, was an immigrant church. It continues to be an immigrant church just as those whose great-grandfathers and grandmothers came to the United States from Europe looking for a better life, looking for opportunities, looking for land, for work. People continue to come here for those very same reasons from different parts of the world. It behooves us as a church to gain some intercultural competence to be able to be open to these communities. Even in a parish that's presently English-dominant, to have that openness and awareness that these populations are there. Many times, they are present in the community but don't attend the parish because there are no perceived services in their language or in their culture.

Gutiérrez: Could you speak a little bit about the role that Catholic education might play in Hispanic ministry, and in shaping the church that we're in now here in the United States?

Bishop Cantú: The growing demographic of Catholics in the United States was the Hispanic community but the participation in Catholic schools was disproportionately very low -- it was about 3%. The desire was to raise it to about 5 or 6%, which would mean about a million new students in Catholic schools across the country.

Many times, Catholic schools in Latin America are very different. They're not parochial schools; they're private schools and are usually quite expensive and are seen by most as elite institutions rather than being open to everyone. So, making Catholic schools accessible, financially and culturally, those have been significant efforts in our Catholic schools. Those efforts need to continue into the future.

Gutiérrez: What does that mean to make a Catholic school accessible culturally?

Bishop Cantú: I think of my own parents. They didn't speak English well -- my mother, virtually none, my dad in a very broken English. To have someone at the front office who can receive them and welcome them in their own language, that's not unreasonable. In fact, that's a very good business decision.

Gutiérrez: In many ways, even those who might be English-dominant are affected by this particular issue of immigration in our country. What role does the church have to play, and what role can we lay Catholics play, in these advocacy efforts?

Bishop Cantú: For many decades, the bishops have been at the forefront of promoting a comprehensive immigration reform. It got very close to success during the years of George W. Bush. Unfortunately, it was not accepted. Since then, our politics, sadly, have become much more divisive. But we need to continue to speak from the perspective of unity of families, the perspective of human dignity, the perspective of the natural rights of persons and families to be able to support their families and to seek places where they can support their families if they can't do so in their home country.

Certainly, the first right is to be able to stay in their home countries. I know most of those who migrate -- that is their preference; they would love to stay where they grew up. But if they can't support their families there, then they have a natural right of survival, to migrate.

Gutiérrez: Is there anything about this pastoral plan that you feel is especially important to know?

Bishop Cantú: On a broader level, just to note that the (V Encuentro) delegates five years ago in Grapevine were a shot in the arm in the bishops, spiritually, emotionally, in their very clear and palpable support to the bishops in a most difficult time for the church. That is emblematic of something larger -- that the Hispanic community is not just a community that asks for resources but also has many gifts and is ready to contribute to the larger church.