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THE CONVOCATION OF CATHOLIC LEADERS:<br />
WE ARE THE CHURCH NOW!<br />
Corazon Puro and Latinos por La<br />
Vida was one of the groups specifically<br />
invited to participate in<br />
the Convocation of Catholic Leaders<br />
to represent Hispanics in the<br />
United States. We took a team of<br />
seven, hoping to share about our<br />
mission field and about the vast<br />
opportunities for outreach to Hispanics<br />
in the Church. We wanted<br />
to share that Church leaders<br />
should not be afraid of including<br />
us, but should embrace us<br />
with all our cultural richness. In<br />
the United States today, about a<br />
third of all Catholics are Hispanic.<br />
In addition to our growing demographic,<br />
nearly six in ten Hispanics<br />
are Millennials or younger.<br />
Pilar passionately emphasized<br />
this point in an EWTN interview<br />
at the Convocation by saying that<br />
Hispanic youth are not the future<br />
6 CORAZONES<br />
of the Catholic church -- we are<br />
the Catholic Church NOW! We are<br />
the fastest growing demographic<br />
in the nation, and we are ready<br />
to take Jesus to the world!<br />
The Convocation provided an<br />
opportunity for lay and religious<br />
leaders to discuss different issues<br />
and mission fields in the<br />
Church, even touching on some<br />
uncomfortable topics such as<br />
intercultural awareness, racism,<br />
and how to better serve people<br />
in the Church who experience<br />
same-sex attraction. Fr. Agustino<br />
was one of very few leaders in<br />
the country on a panel of speakers<br />
to talk about the contributions<br />
of Latinos to the Church in<br />
the United States, and the need<br />
to better serve the Latino population.<br />
It was apparent that Church<br />
leaders are trying to figure out<br />
how to implement more culturally<br />
relevant programs and offer<br />
more formation and mission opportunities<br />
for Latino youth.<br />
By far, the most impressive part<br />
of the Convocation was not the<br />
panels or breakout sessions, but<br />
the celebration of the Holy Mass.<br />
Watching 150 bishops process in<br />
with a classical schola chanting<br />
in the background was profound<br />
and moving. It made me proud to<br />
be Catholic and reminded me to<br />
pray for our bishops, our shepherds.<br />
One of the most astounding<br />
things was that those bishops<br />
and several hundred priests<br />
were gathered to listen to us, the<br />
people of the Church. This is a<br />
pivotal moment in the Church of<br />
the United States...and Corazon<br />
Puro is a part of it!
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