Thread: What Hispanics hope for

And will the pope also visit Mexico and/or Central & South America to preach to those countries to help their people?
~~

What Hispanics hope for
A message of empathy for immigrants could have an effect outside the church

Saturday, Apr 05, 2008 - 12:09 AM

By JUAN ANTONIO LIZAMA
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
Hispanics make up an ever larger portion of Catholics in the U.S., and what the pope says about them on his upcoming visit to the U.S. will mean a lot

Hispanic Catholics in the Richmond area are awaiting the pope's visit with the hope that he will bring a message of peace and more humane treatment of immigrants.

Fidel Rubio, pastoral associate for Hispanic Ministry at St. Augustine Catholic Church in Chesterfield County, said he would like to hear Pope Benedict XVI remind Americans that all people are God's children.

"If the pope comes and talks about the need for an immigration reform, bishops will join in," he said. "The church would unite in speaking out in support of immigrants."

Immigration is a hot-button issue in which the Roman Catholic Church plays an active role nationally.

Stepped-up government efforts to crack down on illegal immigration in the U.S. have resulted in hundreds of thousands of deportations in recent years. Meanwhile, the Catholic Church has advocated through its Justice for Immigrants campaign for comprehensive immigration reform with an emphasis on legalization.

An influx of immigrants in the U.S., especially from Catholic-heavy Latin America, is having a profound influence on the Catholic Church.

The rapid growth of Hispanic membership and the distinctive form of Christianity that Hispanics practice are changing the church's landscape, according to the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.

Almost 30 percent of the nation's 73 million Catholics are Hispanic, according to the Pew Forum. Among younger Catholics, the percentage of Hispanic parishioners is even higher, making up 45 percent of those 18 to 29 years old.

"The church has to make sure its outreach to Spanish-speakers works," said the Rev. Shay Auerbach, pastor of Sacred Heart Catholic Church on Perry Street, just south of the James River. His church has become 85 percent Hispanic in the past 10 years, he said.

. . .

The Catholic Diocese of Richmond, which counts an estimated 70,000 Hispanic members, is reflecting that change, Auerbach said.

Twenty-five of the diocese's more than 150 parishes have started offering Mass in Spanish during the past 15 years, and the diocese strongly encourages seminarians to learn Spanish.

The diocese also opened a Hispanic apostolate office in 1996 to address spiritual and social-justice needs of Hispanics and to raise awareness of what Hispanics can offer the larger church.

"The experience immigrants bring to the U.S. church is very different," Auerbach said. "They have different religious customs, different festivals, different ways to celebrate things. It injects new life into the church."

. . .

One of those customs that is growing in local churches with heavy Hispanic populations is the quincea?era celebration for girls turning 15.

St. Augustine in Chesterfield County and Sacred Heart in South Richmond are performing these celebrations, which include Mass, in groups because of increasing demand. St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church in Highland Springs still has individual services.

Esaud Feliciano, a layman at Church of the Sacred Heart in Prince George County, is preparing to enroll in classes to become a deacon and help in the church with baptisms and other sacraments and the quincea?era celebrations that are in demand among his church's growing Hispanic congregation, he said.

"I would like for the pope to touch on the issue of Hispanic deacons in the community," Feliciano said. "We need a Hispanic diaconate and more Spanish-speaking priests to serve the growing Hispanic community."

Feliciano said he had hoped to get a ticket to see the pope April 17 at Nationals Park in Washington, but he didn't, so he'll watch him on television.

"His visit is a blessing that God is giving us," he said. "To have him among us is grandiose."

Carmen Williams, a leader in the Hispanic congregation at St. Augustine, said she hopes Benedict's visit will bring moral support for immigrants.

"We expect a message of love and hope for all immigrants in this country, especially for those who are undocumented," she said.

www.inrich.com

We expect a message of love and hope for all immigrants in this country, especially for those who are undocumented," she said.






Really? Well then, good for you.

The message I expect is one of obeying the law, stop trying to justify every single act of criminal behavior committed by "immigrants", respect for those of us whose home country you have invaded and pillaged, and returning to your home countries with the hope of making changes there.

Hispanic Catholics in the Richmond area are awaiting the pope's visit with the hope that he will bring a message of peace and more humane treatment of immigrants.

If the Pope is seeking more humane treatment of immigrants he should be visiting Mexico and delivering his message there.

Appeal to Mexican President Calderon:
"Amnesty International has documented torture, arbitrary detention,
excessive use of force and the denial of due process," said Cox in a letter
to President Calderon ahead of his official visit Sunday through next
Thursday (Feb. 10-14). "The public security and criminal justice
institutions have too frequently been characterized as abusive, ineffective
and lacking independence and transparency."
Larry Cox, executive director of Amnesty International USA

Illegal Alien Mexicans are just as good a Catholic in Mexico as they are in the US ...

so whats the problem... drag they're backside back to Mexico and be a good Catholic there

the Pope "although a good man" would better serve his time going to Rowanda or another 3rd world country to fix that problem

Hmmmm,
He sounds like Pope John McCain, looks like hime too.

gotta pay for those lawsuits somehow

Code:

Fidel Rubio, pastoral associate for Hispanic Ministry at St. Augustine Catholic Church in Chesterfield County, said he would like to hear Pope Benedict XVI remind Americans that all people are God's children.

Cannot they be God's children in their beloved Mexico? God would still recognize them in Mexico, Right?

DOES ANYBODY HAVE THE POPE'S EMAIL??

Fidel Rubio, pastoral associate for Hispanic Ministry at St. Augustine Catholic Church in Chesterfield County, said he would like to hear Pope Benedict XVI remind Americans that all people are God's children.

Didn't John McCain say "illegal immigrants are God's children too"?

SO? That doesn't make it okay to break our laws by entering into the country ILLEGALLY.

AMERICA CAN'T KEEP HAVING EVERYONE IN THE WORLD COME FREELY ACCROSS OUR BORDERS. We are a nation of laws, and not one single ethnic group is exempt from obeying the law.

The Pope would be wise to keep out of governmental affairs.

I think we should change the title to something more apt:

"WHAT HISPANICS DEMAND"