Lead Message
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Evangelization said key to Hispanic ministry
By Steve Neill
Of The Catholic Virginian
Dr. Adele Gonzalez has a real concern that unless active Catholics actively seek out and evangelize the growing number of Hispanics in their community, the Catholic Church will lose them to other Christian denominations.
“We are losing Catholics,” said Dr. Gonzalez, a native of Cuba who worked in lay formation for more than 30 years with the Archdiocese of Miami. “The same thing happened to the Irish when they first came to Florida,” she asserted. “We lost them to the Baptists.”
It is not uncommon in parts of Florida and parts of the South, she pointed out, to find people with names like O’Brien and Murphy who are now Protestants. The original settlers who had those names came to an area where the Catholic Church was either absent or failed to evangelize and make the newcomers feel welcome. “We don’t want to do this with Hispanics,” Dr. Gonzalez said.
She made her comments at the annual diocesan Hispanic Ministry Meeting on March 9 at St. Michael Church in Glen Allen. The meeting is intended for priests who offer weekly Mass in Spanish, parish staff and lay leaders.
While some Catholics might look upon the term evangelization as a “Protestant word,” Dr. Gonzalez said, she asserted that all who accept the message of Jesus are asked to evangelize. “Jesus gave us a mission,” she said. “He said ‘Go now. As my father sent me, now I send you.”
In her own experience at Barry University in Miami where she teaches theology, Dr. Gonzalez says she meets students who identify themselves as former Catholics. “A student will say ‘I was born and raised a Catholic, but I don’t go to church anymore,’” she gave as an example. One former Catholic explained that she had become a Lutheran. Dr. Gonzalez said she responded by telling her that Catholics and Lutherans have a common agreement on many theological issues. The need to evangelize is critical, she emphasized.
“Don’t think you have to be exactly like them in order to minister to them,” Dr. Gonzalez said. “You only have to have the imagination to be able to walk in their shoes,” she added. Some participants at the Hispanic Ministry Meeting offered suggestions for evangelization. Deacon Juan Ibarra, who works jointly in St. Anne parish in Bristol and St. John parish, Marion, said one might offer to help new immigrants in filling out green card applications. He also encouraged “Anglos” to greet Hispanic newcomers in Spanish. “If you try to learn their language and learn about their culture, that shows acceptance of therm,” Deacon Ibarra said. “It takes time, but because it takes time and progress is slow in coming, we should not throw up our hands and say it isn’t working,” he continued. “There’s got to be compassion and conviction in what we do.”
Deacon Ibarra, originally ordained a permanent deacon for the Diocese of Dallas, served in ministry at the Cathedral-Santuario of Guadalupe and at St. Pius X Church before moving to Virginia last year. Dr. Gonzalez suggested that Anglos or non-Hispanics ask questions of themselves. “How am I in my openness? How am I in my inclusiveness?” she asked. “Why am I here?” she said one should ask. “The parish has to exist for the mission of Christ,” she said.
“If we do only what you want to do and fulfill our own agenda, we are not growing. “We have to minister to people, not for people.”
Dr. Gonzalez explained there are cultural differences which some non-Hispanics might find helpful to know. She pointed out that asking Hispanics to give money to an institution wouldn’t have much appeal, but asking them to give money to assist hurricane victims will resonate with them. “It has to be very concrete and very personal and they will give generously,” she said.
 In seeking to minister to Hispanics as well as other people, Dr. Gonzalez said it is important to consult them. For example, if a parish wanted to offer a Bible study in Spanish seeking to draw Hispanics, a few questions need to be asked first including where such a session should be held. “What do they really need?,” she said rhetorically. We need to ask them.
“Some would want Bible sharing in their home because the parish to them would be overwhelming,” she said. “Others would not want their home to be used because they feel it is not as welcoming as they would want. In this case, we need to ask them.” She also said that if a parish were to offer a Bible study, it would be good to offer a certificate at the end of the series. “The certificate is very important to them,” she said. “It validates what they have been doing.”
Relating a lesson she learned in Florida in her own parish, which is now largely Haitian, Dr. Gonzalez said it is often important to answer “earthy questions” about specifics before getting into deeper theological issues. She said that in classes for parents of children preparing for first Communion, she spoke in detail about the Eucharist and the children’s preparation for it. When she finished she asked if there were any questions. “The first question I got was ‘Do the boys wear white shoes or black shoes?’” Dr. Gonzalez said. “I learned from this that you answer the earthy questions they are concerned about such as proper clothes, time and date and then get into theology.” 
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