WASHINGTON — More than 400 Hispanic ministry leaders from across the country met beginning April 26 for the 6th National Catholic Congress Raíces y Alas, which has a theme “Prophetic Voices: Being bridges for a new era.” Leaders on hand from the San Diego Diocese include Bishop Robert McElroy, Chancellor “Marioly” Galván and Rodrigo Valdivia, Vice-Moderator of the Curia.
Church leaders from the Vatican, Latin America and the U.S. also are participating, including Archbishop Christophe Pierre, Papal Nuncio to the U.S.; Archbishop Miguel Cabrejos, president of the Latin American Bishops Council (CELAM); Bishop Alberto Rojas from the San Bernardino Diocese; Rev. Allan Deck, a distinguished professor from Loyola Marymount University; and Mar Muñoz Visoso, executive director of the Cultural Diversity Committee of the USCCB.
Hispanic ministry leaders are gathering for in-depth dialogue to discern and develop pastoral initiatives to serve the growing, diverse, Latino Catholic population. An estimated 40 percent of Catholics today are Latino in the United States, while more than a majority of Catholics ages 18 to 29 are Hispanic.
Those on hand included leading Hispanic staff from dioceses from across the country, priests, religious men and women, educators, musicians and bishops, among others.
Muñoz Visoso delivered they keynote address in the opening dinner on April 26, setting the framework for the discussions to come in the next four days.
“We believe in the gift of being a prophetic voice as something given by God to our people as a means to promote the unity and love that are necessary for the building of the Kingdom,” she said. “We believe that this gift permits us to spread God’s message in a clear, effective way for the good of our people, for the Church in the U.S. and for our brothers and sisters throughout the world.”
