Archbishop's web site Denver Catholic Register Parishes Catholic Pastoral Center
April 17, 2002
`Bienvenidos' to the Hispanic institute and those it will serve
Church leaders have announced their intention to open Centro Juan Diego: Hispanic Institute for Family and Pastoral Care next summer. Renovations to the former Sacred Heart School at 28th and Lawrence streets just north of LoDo are scheduled to begin in June.
The announcement is good news for Hispanics and the entire Church in northern Colorado. Demographers estimate that the rapidly growing Hispanic community, which makes up nearly 32 percent of the population in Denver, will make up the majority of the Church in the United States within 10 years. Despite their significant numbers, Hispanics aren't well represented in administrative positions or in the clergy of the Church. The institute will seek to address that, organizers said, by educating Hispanics on catechesis, Bible study, Church doctrine and leadership. The entire Church will benefit from the catechetical and leadership training by having well-formed catechists boosting evangelization efforts. The better-catechized laity should result in an increase of vocations to the priesthood and religious life among Hispanics, organizers said.
The institute also will seek to address challenges new immigrants and native-born Hispanics face by providing emergency services and referrals to them as well as educational opportunities such as English as a Second Language classes, after-school tutoring, and legal information and consultation on immigration, housing and employment.
Due to language barriers, cultural differences and deportation fears, immigrant Spanish speakers frequently go to parishes seeking help, rather than to government agencies, Church leaders said, but parishes are often ill equipped to provide the social services they need. Organizers describe the institute as "a one-stop resource center" that would address the spiritual and material needs of Hispanics. Not wanting to recreate the wheel, the institute will collaborate with Church and government agencies already providing services and will offer follow-up care to ensure people are indeed getting the assistance they need.
Again, such efforts will benefit both the local Church and the greater community by helping needy Hispanics to have stable home environments, achieve self-sufficiency and contribute to the community.
Long admired for their deep faith and their preservation of culture, Hispanics have enriched the Church and the nation with both. Let us support the institute with our prayers, service and donations and with arms outstretched say, "Bienvenidos, hermanos y hermanas. Nuestra casa es su casa." ("Welcome, brothers and sisters. Our house is your house.")
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