Message of hope for migrants marks opening of Hispanic ministry directors conference

NEWARK, N.J. (OSV News) -- With the theme "Walking with Joy, Anchored in Hope," the annual conference of Hispanic ministry directors kicked off the evening of Oct. 21, bringing together representatives from at least 87 dioceses that are serving the Hispanic community in different regions across the country.

From Oct. 21 to 24, the National Catholic Association of Diocesan Directors of Hispanic Ministry, or NCADDHM, is gathering in Newark to participate in Eucharistic celebrations, conferences, training sessions, moments of reflection and fellowship.

The conference of pastoral leaders in Hispanic ministry, members of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and members of Catholic organizations will focus on five of the pastoral priorities of the National Pastoral Plan for Hispanic/Latino Ministry, a 10-year plan that was approved by the U.S. bishops in June 2023.

These five priorities to be discussed are young adults and campus ministry, family life, formation and evangelization, social justice and immigration, and vocations.

At the gathering's opening Mass, Auxiliary Bishop Mario A. Avilés of Brownsville, Texas, stressed the need for hope. "In a world marked by division, uncertainty and struggles of the people, cumulative challenges, cultural shift, and spiritual hunger," he said, "these things cause us to move forward, not in despair, but with great joy that springs from hope."

"During this conference, we must move our hope forward through prayer, collaboration, and all initiatives. Let us walk together joyfully proclaiming the Gospel," Bishop Avilés said in his homily. "All of us who are committed to Hispanic ministry must help ensure that we are not only communicators of this, but witnesses to this superabundant grace of which St. Paul speaks."

The difficult situation facing the migrant community in the United States prompted deep reflection, and in this regard, Bishop Avilés stated that "the theme of our conference, with joy anchored in hope, connects us very well with the theme of the virtue of hope."

Under the Trump administration's hardline immigration policies, operations by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in multiple cities, including large-scale raids at worksites, have sparked protests and prompted alarm from Catholic immigration advocates.

"We know the night can feel long ... yet hope anchors us. It is the virtue that moves beyond the darkness," he said.

The prelate pointed out that although "we may think that there is no way out or in situations where we feel enraged, we have to think that grace surpasses everything, and where sin, evil and injustice abound, grace surpasses."

Later, during a dinner welcoming the nearly 250 conference participants, Auxiliary Bishop Manuel A. Cruz of Newark spoke of how the Hispanic community "loves its priests and nuns" and of the richness they bring to the church, stating that "not only are they the future of our church, but Hispanics sustain us and lead us to perseverance."

"The humanity of accepting who we are, we are Hispanics, we have an accent, we may have our own limitations, whatever we may have, but we are human and that is where God reveals himself to each one of us," said Bishop Cruz, adding that this "is the beauty of our apostolate, of living the humanity of who we are and that always leads us to holiness."

Alejandro Aguilera-Titus, assistant director of the Subcommittee on Hispanic Affairs of the USCCB's Secretariat for Cultural Diversity in the Church, shared details of the recent meeting of representatives of Hispanic pastoral ministry in the United States with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican.

At this meeting, which took place during the Jubilee for Migrants and Refugees, "the instability, uncertainty, fear and abuse of power that we are seeing" were denounced, said Aguilera-Titus, adding that "there has been a dehumanization of our people" and that "they are persecuting the most vulnerable."

Aguilera-Titus urged the Hispanic leaders at the Newark conference to assume their prophetic role, to walk in synodality, and to be signs of faith and hope in a society that is currently facing great challenges.

Finally, he called on them to not allow fear to paralyze us, to unmask false narratives and to "organize hope" as a pastoral path.