Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Baltimore (Agenzia Fides) - Experts on faith formation and leadership development among the Hispanic community in the United States met December 2-3 with staff members of the Secretariat for Cultural Diversity in the Church of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) to share reflections, core values and recommendations in moving forward.
The Catholic bishops have set forth faith formation with an emphasis on sacramental practice as one of their five priorities for 2008-2011. Attention to cultural diversity with an emphasis on Hispanic ministry is another.
The goal of the Symposium on Faith Formation Among Hispanics/Latinos was to start a dialogue that will lead "to improve faith formation practices among Hispanics/Latinos of all ages in parishes, dioceses and Catholic institutions."
The symposium convened a small, diverse group. Among the participants were theologians, directors of academic programs in higher education institutions, the chairman of NCCL's (National Conference of Catechetical Leadership) Forum on Catechesis with Hispanics, the president of Federación de Institutos Pastorales (Federation of Hispanic Pastoral Institutes or FIP), directors of Hispanic pastoral institutes, Hispanic ministry and diaconate formation programs, publishing houses and others.
Among the main recommendations of the group were: A strong push for family catechesis models; Understanding faith formation as a process that happens over time and must not be a one-size-fits-all program; Promoting a diversity of choices and models of faith formation of all ages within the parish, especially as it relates to languages and culture; Developing programs with a strong evangelization content; Working closely with apostolic movements; Establishing mechanisms of collaboration among those involved in faith formation; and Developing a framework for faith formation of Hispanics in the United States in collaboration with the USCCB.
In the longer term, the findings will be shared with national organizations and experts for continued conversation with the hope of producing a set of guidelines or recommendations to improve faith and leadership formation among Hispanic Catholics. (RG) (Agenzia Fides 9/12/2008)
