Thread: Mexican-American nun tells Hispanics not to lose cultural he

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ENCUENTRO-GONZALEZ Jun-13-2006 (780 words) With photos posted June 9 and 12. xxxn

Mexican-American nun tells Hispanics not to lose cultural heritage

By Catholic News Service

NOTRE DAME, Ind. (CNS) -- A Mexican-American nun told Hispanic youths not to lose their cultural identity as they become increasingly a part of the U.S. church and society.

Hispanics must maintain their cultural heritage if they are to achieve self-esteem and be leaders in a growing cross-cultural world, said Mercy Sister Maria Elena Gonzalez, president of the Mexican American Cultural Center in San Antonio.

Hispanics also must be ready to assume leadership roles in the U.S. church as their growing numbers soon should make them the majority, said Sister Gonzalez. Her cultural center trains people for Hispanic and multicultural ministry.

The aim of Hispanic church leadership should be to "build unity in our diversity," she said June 9 during a keynote talk at the National Encuentro for Hispanic Youth and Young Adult Ministry at the University of Notre Dame.

The June 8-11 "encuentro," Spanish for "gathering," was the first national meeting of its kind. Its theme was "Weaving Together the Future."

The bilingual event was organized by the National Catholic Network de Pastoral Juvenil Hispana (of Hispanic Youth Ministry). It was co-sponsored by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Hispanic Affairs, the USCCB Subcommittee on Youth and Young Adults and the University of Notre Dame. About 2,000 Hispanic youths and people involved in Hispanic youth ministry attended.

At regional meetings held in preparation for the national encuentro, many youths cited as important challenges "the need to raise the self-esteem of Hispanic young people and to confront the discrimination that so many of you experience in your schools, neighborhoods, and yes -- even in your families," said Sister Gonzalez.

"It is a sad reality that even now, in the year 2006, racism is alive and well," she said.

But racism is not overcome by abandoning your cultural heritage in an effort to be accepted, she said.

"So many of our Hispanic young people try to fit into the dominant culture by not only leaving their language and culture behind, but also by rejecting it, ridiculing it and even by changing their appearance," she said.

She criticized young Hispanics "who try to lighten their skin, straighten their hair and even wear blue contacts."

Such efforts lead "to a profound loss of identity and ultimately a loss of self," she said.

Sister Gonzalez said that she is the daughter of immigrants and went through the same rejection syndrome in trying to adapt to the United States.

"I was even embarrassed of my own parents because they did not know any English, were poor and had little education," she said.

But "culture is the soul of a people," she said.

A person's identity "comes from the core of who you are," Sister Gonzalez said.

Regarding the rapid growth of Hispanics in the U.S., she said that soon "we will become the majority of U.S. Catholics. In many dioceses, the reality of this demographic shift has already happened."

This means that Hispanic Catholics need to prepare for leadership roles, she said.

"To be truly effective ministers in today's church, you must become at least bilingual and more importantly become aware and sensitive of your own cultural identity and that of others," she said.

"It calls us to move out of our comfort zone and into the unknown," she said.

Avoid the temptation "to build a parallel church" just for Hispanics, Sister Gonzalez said.

"It is easier to have two youth groups -- one for the English-speaking and the other for the Spanish-speaking, it is safer to be a leader in my own group," she said. "But the call of the Gospel and our bishops is not the easy way."

San Antonio Archbishop Jose H. Gomez, in a June 8 talk, said that Hispanic youths must become "a new generation of disciples."

Hispanics should look to the Christian martyrs of Mexico and other Latin American countries, he said, as a source of inspiration in spreading the Catholic faith to others.

"We realize that many young people are losing faith. You know people who should be here who are perhaps in a bad situation with drugs. We must be apostles to the people around us," the archbishop said.

Archbishop Gomez described the contentious national debate over immigration as a "complicated issue" but one that calls Hispanics to be leaders who raise their voices for justice.

"Even many of our Catholic brothers and sisters often forget the need to welcome the stranger. We have to remind them that we are all children of God. We need to fight for laws that respect the dignity of human beings," he said.

END

Why do churches want illegals here? A larger money base?