WASHINGTON — Archbishop José Gómez, from Los Angeles, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, ended the third day of a national Hispanic ministry conference with a call to promote unity.
He addressed around 400 ministry leaders in a day they had focused on the family and social justice, two of the priority work areas identified by the organization.
They are meeting in the Sixth Annual Congress Raíces y Alas in the nation’s capital through April 30, a conference organized by the National Catholic Council for Hispanic Ministry. The leaders serve in all areas of ministry in their dioceses and organizations.
Archbishop Gomez celebrated a Mass at the end of the conference’s third day, then addressed the leaders at a banquet.
He told them that they had the great responsibility to follow the teachings of Pope Francis in his encyclical “Fratelli Tutti” (All Brothers and Sisters).
“Our challenge, one that is essential for the future of our Church, is to strengthen unity,” he said. “It does not matter our country of origin, or where we live, we need to promote unity across this nation.”
