NCYC 2007:

Historic for Hispanic Teens

By Marie Elena Giossi

Hispanic Catholic teenagers make up about half of the entire Catholic teenage population in this country. For the first time, the 2007 National Catholic Youth Conference, held last weekend in Columbus, Ohio, offered a special track to address their needs.

Over 200 Hispanic teenagers and their youth ministers attended the two-day Encuentro Follow-Up Track, titled “Si Se Puede! Convirtamonos en Catalizadores del Cambio!/Yes We Can! Becoming Catalysts for Change.”

Marie Elena Giossi Photos 

Hispanic youths, above, prayed together before discussing their role in the Church in America. Alejandro Aguilera-Titus, interim executive director of the USCCB’s Secretariat for Hispanic Affairs, below, with Marilyn Santos, adolescent faith formation coordinator in the Brooklyn Diocese.

“We should be a different Church because we have such a large percentage of Hispanic Catholics in this country,” said Bob McCarty, executive director of the National Federation of Catholic Youth Ministry, which sponsors NCYC. He observed Saturday’s session to find out “what the Church can do to better call forth the gifts of the Hispanic community. … This is not a one-time conversation. This is an ongoing conversation for the entire Church.”

The conversation hosted in Columbus has its roots in the First National Hispanic Youth and Young Adult Ministry Encounter (Primer Encuentro Nacional de Pastoral Juvenil Hispana), a landmark event for the Catholic Church in America that culminated in a gathering of over 2,000 young adults representing over 100 dioceses on Notre Dame University’s campus in June, 2006.

The Encuentro began 18 months earlier as a process to engage young people and leadership in Hispanic Young Adult ministry in a process of encounter-conversion-communion-solidarity and mission to empower Hispanic young people to more active, enthusiastic and influential participation in the life and mission of the American Church. Conversations began on the parish level, moved to the diocesan and regional levels, and then to the national event. Statements and recommendations made will chart the future for Hispanic youth ministry for years to come.

At the NCYC, the National Catholic Network de Pastoral Juvenil Hispana, also called La Red, which organized the Encuentro in collaboration with the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry (NFCYM), partnered in an effort to continue the dialogue on how the Church in America can most effectively engage and empower Hispanic young people.

Invitations were extended to Hispanic youth ministers through NFCYM e-mails, information posted on the NCYC group leader website, and through the National Catholic Association of Diocesan Directors of Hispanic Ministry.

Teens gathered for five hours over the course of two days in a conference room in the Greater Columbus Convention Center, where organizers explained what the Encuentro process is, addressed several themes that emerged from the national event, fostered small-group discussions on the themes in light of the participants’ own experiences, and invited teens to recommend follow-up steps that can be implemented at their local, diocesan and regional levels as well as on the national scale.

Bishop Jaime Soto of the Diocese of Orange, California, member of the USCCB Committee for the Laity and chair of the Subcommittee on Youth and Young Adults, was the keynote speaker.

Friday’s sessions focused on spirituality and leadership formation, respectively presented by Marissa Esparza, Youth Ministry director, Diocese of San Diego, and member of La Red’s board of directors; and Auxiliary Bishop Felipe de Jesus Estevez of the Archdiocese of Miami and member of the USCCB Subcommittee for Youth and Young Adults.

Saturday’s session about Hispanic youth participation in the faith community was presented by Alejandro Aguilera-Titus, interim executive director of the USCCB’s Secretariat for Hispanic Affairs.

“Your presence here is historic. Never before did we have so many Hispanic teens at NCYC,” noted Aguilera-Titus. “You are pioneers. You have taken the first step to make the face of the Church in the U.S. more complete.”

He told them that out of all teenage Catholics in this country, 50% are Hispanic. Yet, at this conference, which drew around 20,000 people, there were only a little over 200 teens representing the nation’s Hispanic teenage population.

“We are a bilingual, bicultural people. That is our heritage. That is our blessing,” he said.

He told teens not to limit themselves to an “either/or” situation of choosing one language or culture over the other. Rather, he said, they should embrace and appreciate both their Hispanic and American cultures, Spanish- and English-speaking abilities.

“We are bilingual. Please don’t let anyone tell you who we are. Don’t let go of your language and culture because you think it’s an obstacle. … We are bilingual by heritage. The Church exists to evangelize, not Americanize. We can be more Catholic by being who we really are. …

“The only thing that can bring unity to the Church is the Holy Spirit, not speaking the same language or praying the same way. We know who we are. Every single Hispanic Catholic teen needs to feel welcome in their faith community,” he said.

Aguilera-Titus then challenged teens to say how they participate as a Hispanic youth in their faith communities.

Representing Hispanic youth in the Diocese of Brooklyn and Queens were Jasmine Salazar, Katherine Borja, Yerlin Fernandez, Christopher Lopez, and Massiel Pion from the Jornada Movement; Miniely Valdez, Karen Puello and Laura Rodriguez from Jovenes de Valor; and Travis Clement and Tito Gary from Bishop Loughlin M.H.S., Ft. Greene. Organzing the Brooklyn diocesan delegation was Marilyn Santos, adolescent faith formation coordinator in the Faith Formation Office, who also served on the Encuentro Follow-Up Track Task Group Committee.

At their table, Valdez, group leader for Jovenes de Valor, was the first to respond, saying that the first rule of active participation is to “Show up. If you’re going to preach it, practice it.”

Teens conversed about the apostolic works accomplished by the ministries, parishes and schools to which they belong as well as their individual efforts. One person at the table said she volunteers at her parish’s immigration office, another has volunteered with Habitat for Humanity and many said that they serve as a bridge between Spanish- and English-speaking relatives and neighbors.

“Hispanic youth have a lot to contribute to the mainstream Church,” noted Jesus Abrego, president of La Red, Diocese of Beaumont, Texas. He looked forward to hearing more about what teens are doing in their parish communities, what they need from their local dioceses, and what actions the Church needs to take to support and encourage them.

“They’re eager to participate in the decision-making of the Church. They want their voices heard and their talents to be utilized. We’re here. We’re listening to them,” he said.

Teens were then asked to reflect upon a second question: What steps do we Church leaders need to take to help you our Hispanic youth participants to be more fully involved in faith community?

Brooklyn and Queens teens arrived at several suggestions that could be implemented in their own parishes. One young man, who has no youth ministry program in his parish, feels the diocese should ensure that there is “a youth minister in every parish to reach out to every youth.”

Another teen said leaders need to offer teen-oriented Bible study groups and follow up with explanations in “Father Tony-style,” referring to NCYC keynote speaker, Father Tony Ricard.

One youth wants to have more festivities for Hispanic feast days in her parish.

Other suggestions included giving teens opportunities to put their talents into action through music, song and dance; organizing service projects; and offering sports programs.

Jasmine Salazar, who lead Brooklyn’s Jornada delegation, noted that perhaps the most important step leaders can take is to communicate to young people the same message NCYC emcee Steve Angrisano gave teens — “You don’t have the power to make yourself unholy.” She said many young people feel they’ve done so much wrong and mistakenly believe there’s no way back to being holy again. She feels Church leaders need to commend the youth who are already on the right path and inspire them to evangelize their peers one-to-one.

Each table wrote out its own recommendations that will be reviewed by session organizers and shared with the USCCB. The data will be used to respond to needs expressed on the parish, diocesan, regional and national levels; plan future programming; and serve as a resource for more effective collaboration in ministry to Hispanic Catholic young people across the country.

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