Latino Bishops Gather in San Antonio to Discuss Strategy for Increased Accessibility to Catholic Schools for Latino Families
Last month the Catholic School Advantage Campaign and the Program for K-12 Educational Access (PEA) – two initiatives of ACE often working closely in collaboration – gathered together 13 Latino (arch)bishops as part of the PEA's ongoing advocacy work with church leaders.
Traditionally, the PEA has led this dialogue with Catholic bishops from around the country to discuss the Church's unique and integral role in the enactment and expansion of well-designed parental choice programs. This year, the gathering, which was designed in response to Cardinal Dolan's recent invitation to approach the transformation of K-12 Catholic schools with renewed focus and vision, included Latino bishops from across the United States to focus explicitly on what they as Latino leaders in the Church can do to revitalize Catholic education.
The data regarding population growth and educational outcomes within the Latino community has clearly indicated a "demographic imperative" that the Church more effectively serve Latinos through K-12 Catholic schools. Furthermore, bishops – particularly Latino bishops – have unique authority to articulate both the urgency and importance of this work, as well as offer a unique perspective in forging a strategy to position Catholic schools as indispensable instruments of the New Evangelization.
One concrete idea that came out of our gathering was that of hosting a series of webinars in conjunction with the Committee on Catholic Education at the USCCB. These webinars would address primarily the issue of how we might make our schools and parishes more culturally responsive to the Latino community. Stay tuned for an announcement about these webinars in the coming months.
The gathering was held in San Antonio, Texas, January 15-16, with the following bishops in attendance:
- Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller, M.Sp.S., Archdiocese of San Antonio
- Bishop Cantú, Diocese of Las Cruces
- Bishop Arturo Cepeda, Archdiocese of Detroit
- Bishop Eusebio Elizondo, M.Sp.S., Archdiocese of Seattle
- Bishop Richard García, Diocese of Monterey
- Bishop Armando Ochoa, Diocese of Fresno
- Bishop Nelson Pérez, Diocese of Rockville Centre
- Bishop Plácido Rodríguez, C.M.F., Diocese of Lubbock
- Bishop Alberto Rojas, Archdiocese of Chicago
- Bishop Alexander Salazar, Archdiocese of Los Angeles
- Bishop Jaime Soto, Diocese of Sacramento
- Bishop James Tamayo, Diocese of Laredo
- Bishop Luis Zarama, Archdiocese of Atlanta