1. Una Reformación Latino:
Faith-Based Movements as a Means of Resistance
RELS 299-02: Theology & Radical Democracy
Professor Eggemeier
14 December 2015

2. 1
The emergence of Hispanic/Latino parishes in the United States in the late 1960s and
early 1970s was the result of mobilization among devout, Catholic migrants in their attempt to
integrate themselves into American society. With this strong devotion, many Latino/a Catholics
decided to enter the political realm to contest some of the challenges of their time, such as
undocumented migration and political representation. Above all, obtaining legal status became
an important goal of social transformation for Latinos, mainly because undocumented men,
women, and children all suffered from oppression and structural violence. To counter this,
Hispanic/Latino parishes rooted themselves (and their methodology) in Catholic social teaching,
where the humanity and dignity of immigrants, as well as outreach in building coalitions and
stronger structural links between Latino/as and the U.S. Catholic Church, were strengthened. In
this paper, I will argue that Hispanic/Latino parishes have created faith-based movements in
favor of substantial immigration reform, greater political representation, and prosperity through
grassroots modeling rooted in Catholic social teaching. This argument will unfold in three major
parts. First, I will trace back the origins of immigration, particularly the neoconservative and
neoliberal contours that shaped contemporary relations between the United States and Latin
America. Second, I will discuss the various resources and proposed methods behind the
grassroots modeling of Hispanic/Latino parishes, specifically their roots in Catholic social
teaching. In the final section, I will examine the radical, democratic ideology behind faith-based
Latino movements in the present, including the 2016 presidential election.
Latin American migration and the growth of the Hispanic/Latino population in the United
States are two of the most important and controversial developments in recent history.
Expanding from a small, regionally concentrated population of fewer than six million in 1960 to
a now widely dispersed population of well more than fifty million, Latino/as are destined to

3. 2
continue to exert enormous impact on the social, cultural, political, and economic life of the
United States. The explosive growth of the pan-Latino population in the U.S. has been the result
of the intricate interplay of national and regional economic developments, the history of U.S.
military and foreign policy in the Western Hemisphere, the history of international border
enforcement and interdiction efforts, and, not least, the aspirations of Latino/a migrants.
Over the past fifty years, Latin America has made the transition from a region of
immigration to one of emigration. This trend has been linked to political instability, corruption,
and U.S. intervention – the U.S. government has successfully intervened to change governments
in Latin America at least forty-one times in the last century. In Central America, for instance,
Juan Gonzalez describes how oligarchic systems of governance prevailed until the end of the
twentieth century creating “a battle between democracy and Communism…simplistic
justifications obscured long-festering divisions between rich and poor in the region”1 (Gonzalez,
131). Moreover, a vast majority of Central American migrants arrived as undocumented refugees
in the 1980s and subsequently spent years legalizing their status in order to improve their
economic standing and gain greater political representation. Ironically, many foreign policies
responsible for the creation of new Hispanic/Latino communities in the U.S. were meant to
prevent the transformation of political institutions and federal policies toward disadvantaged
groups, urban landscapes, and cultural understandings of what it meant to be "American.” In a
famous televised address on May 9, 1984, Ronald Regan predicted that the Central American
refugee crisis would only worsen if the U.S. once again allowed Fidel Castro to deceive Western
public opinion by fooling citizens into believing that any revolution against the authoritarian
regimes of Central America would not automatically lead to Communism. Moreover, the speech
1 González, Juan. "Chapter 8: Central Americans: Intervention Comes Home to Roost." Harvest of Empire: A
History of Latinosin America. New York: Viking, 2000. 131. Print.

4. 3
left little room to doubt either the logic or the merits of Reagan's primary, neoliberal goal:
renewal of U.S. funding for military dictatorships in Central America with few, if any, conditions
attached.
Those refugees who entered the United States were met with an unfriendly administration
led by Reagan. As a result, his administration dramatically increased its military and economic
assistance to the region. In El Salvador, for instance, the United States provided $6 billion dollars
in economic and military aid during its twelve-year civil war. Given the estimated population of
about 2.5 million people in 1980, this sum was equivalent to $2,400 for every Salvadoran. In
addition, U.S. economic and military aid to Guatemala was not at the same level, with direct
military aid during the 1980s totaling only $30 million. However, in both cases, the Reagan
administration had strong political reasons not to acknowledge extreme human rights violations,
but soon faced severe backlash. As Greg Grandin describes, his administration eventually “faced
resistance to its Central America policy from a grassroots movement that, although growing out
of the peace demonstrations of the 1960s and 1970s, had much more of a prominent religious
component than did the mobilization protesting the Vietnam War”2 (Grandin, 205-06). As a
result, fewer than five percent of the Central American petitions for political asylum were
approved, and the U.S. government provided no assistance to facilitate Central American
immigrants’ settlement. In 1981, however, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) formally criticized U.S. policy, arguing that the United States was not living up to its
international responsibilities. While Reagan did not change his policies, subsequent
2 Thompson, Michael. Grandin, Greg. "Chapter 9: The Imperial Presidency: The Legacy of Reagan's Central
American Policy." Confronting the New Conservatism: The Rise of the Right in America. New York: New York UP,
2007. 205-06. Print.

5. 4
administrations did regularize the status of some Central American migrants, but many currently
remain in legal “limbo” in the United States.
Reaganomics in Latin America constructed what Grandin calls “a course of moderation”3
(Grandin, 206). Overthrowing governments in Latin America had never been routine for the
United States, but the option to depose a sitting government has been reoccurring frequently over
the past century. Historically, in both the United States and Latin America, economic interests
have been the underlying cause of U.S. interventions. This claim has two variants: corruption
and “savage capitalism” (neoliberalism). The corruption hypothesis contends that U.S. officials
order interventions to protect U.S. corporations. One of the best examples was the decision to
depose the government of Guatemala under Árbenz, a democratic socialist, in 1954. Except for
President Eisenhower, every significant decision maker in that case had a family, business, or
professional tie to the United Fruit Company, whose interests, as Gonzalez puts it, became “the
twentieth-century symbol of U.S. imperialism. It would evolve into a corporate octopus,
controlling the livelihood of hundreds of thousands and toppling government at will”4 (Gonzalez,
57). On the other hand, the neoliberal hypothesis holds that the U.S. intervened not to save
individual companies, but to save the private enterprise system, thus benefiting all U.S. (and
Latin American) companies with a stake in the region. This seems more plausible based on
repeated declarations by U.S. officials who seldom missed an opportunity to praise free
enterprise. This neoliberal ideology was also accompanied by neoconservatism; U.S. officials in
Latin America expressed a preference for “democratic” regimes, but ordered interventions to
overthrow elected governments more often than to restore democracy. As these ideologies
3 Thompson, Michael. Grandin, Greg. "Chapter 9: The Imperial Presidency: The Legacy of Reagan's Central
American Policy." … 206. Print.
4 González, Juan. "Chapter 8: Central Americans: Intervention Comes Home to Roost." … 57. Print.

6. 5
became more dominant, innocent civilians began to seek an alternative towards a better life:
migration to the United States.
Delineating important domestic and international policies demonstrates why the U.S.
government involved itself in the politics of Latin American countries, either encouraging or
discouraging migration. These economic and political interests have had a significant impact on
which countries Latin American migrants originate from, when they come, and how they are
treated upon arrival. For different reasons, the U.S. government has made immigrant settlement
much easier for some national-origin groups than for others. The importance of U.S. foreign and
economic policy in explaining the current face of Latin American migration to the United States
reflects how more and more Latino/a Catholics recognize the impending neoliberal and
neoconservative disasters in their respective countries. As a result, many migrants turned to the
Catholic Church as a safe haven, but even then, as was in El Salvador in the 1980s, “Oscar
Romero, a fierce critic of the Salvadoran junta, and several months later, four American Catholic
nuns and lay workers…were killed by government soldiers”5 (Gonzalez, 134). The attention of
federal government agencies and legal victories over human rights abusers clearly have made
Central Americans aware that they are not alone in burdening the costs and the knowledge of
history that they bear. Such a shift forms part of a larger process of empowerment that has
clearly emerged in the last fifteen years as the majority of first-wave Central American refugees
legalized their status, thereby increasing their political activism on behalf of community needs,
and endorsing candidates for political office. In addition, as more and more Latino/a Catholics
entered the U.S., their satellite pueblos, or networks, expanded to a grassroots phase of
mobilization. This would evolve into a clear opposition to U.S. support for military regimes
5 González, Juan. "Chapter 8: Central Americans: Intervention Comes Home to Roost." … 134. Print.

7. 6
(neoconservatism) and free market fundamentalism (neoliberalism) across various states and
regions of Central America. Grassroots, pastoral work, therefore, would go on to play a major
role in the creation of Hispanic/Latino communities and parishes across the U.S.; those that
sustained life under the affirmed right of all Latino/a Catholics to pursue justice, freedom, and
their own dreams.
A rise in the political demands of Hispanic/Latino groups relates to immediate domestic
policies on a daily basis. They have learned, as other marginalized groups before them did, that
the political arena is where social and economic conditions can be changed and living standards
improved. Latino/as, however, have not been able to build the type of political and socio-
political organizations that ought to serve as focal points for their struggle. Instead, several
Latino/a Catholics have utilized various resources behind their mobilization, most notably the
organizations that have connections to the Catholic Church. Some of these resources include the
Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund, which “has demanded more humane
immigration policies, and has shown concern for those newly arrived immigrants who are
struggling to make ends meet”6 (Lucas, 107). In addition, coalitions in various states have
provided similar resources to aid in a grassroots model of leadership. In San Antonio, TX, for
instance, a political force known as COPS (Community Organized for Public Service) serves as
an umbrella group of organizations, centering its actions not only on specific local issues, but
also “mobilizing the community to pressure the authorities for specific actions, based on
traditional Mexican American values of family and neighborhood networks”7 (Lucas, 108). As
organizations like COPS attempt to provide a voice for Latino/a Catholics within marginalized
6 Lucas, Isidro. "Chapter 8: Empowerment at the Grassroots." The Browning of America: The Hispanic Revolution
in the American Church.Chicago, IL: Fides/Claretian, 1981. 107. Print.
7 Lucas, Isidro. "Chapter 8: Empowerment at the Grassroots.” … 108. Print.

8. 7
political systems, they recognize that they are participating in a movement that reinvigorates
them to pursue greater social change. Of course, while several resources are present to aid
Latino/a Catholics in their grassroots efforts, the methodology to executing goals takes place in
various ways.
Acknowledging the resources available to them, Latino/a Catholics have taken serious
action in parishes across the United States. Organizations such as the Mexican American
Cultural Center (MACC) founded in 1972 by Virgilio Elizondo have “provided potential
managers of coalitions with six weeks of living, working, and learning among the poor of San
Antonio to sensitize them to the needs of the workers whom they would be managing”8
(Rodríguez, 231). By offering introductory, workplace strategies among poor, immigrant
communities, the grassroots model for Latino/a Catholics has worked towards a future that is
consistently inclusive of the poor. Moreover, this concern for all members of the Latino/a
community demonstrates the wave of compassion that Hispanic/Latino parishes have generated
for decades. Within this time, the proposed methods behind grassroots modeling have been
linked to the infrastructure of Hispanic ministry, meaning that organizations like MACC, in the
present, “continue leadership formation work with a strong emphasis on conscientización… and
develop formation programs for parish and diocesan staffs which work with Hispanics so that
they may understand the concept of and practice the pastoral de conjunto”9 (Rodríguez, 233).
Other mobilization tactics have continued with social analyses and demands for rethinking the
ways in which change for Latino/a Catholics of all age groups ought to occur – the Dream
movement, for instance, aims for educational equality for all young Latino/as. What were once
8 Dolan, Jay P., and Allan Figueroa Deck. Rodríguez, Edmundo "Chapter 6: The Hispanic Community and Church
Movements: Schools of Leadership." Hispanic Catholic Culture in the U.S.: Issues and Concerns.Notre Dame: U of
Notre Dame, 1994. 231. Print.
9 Dolan, Jay P., and Allan Figueroa Deck. Rodríguez, Edmundo "Chapter 6: The Hispanic Community and Church
Movements: Schools of Leadership." … 233. Print.

9. 8
the Green Berets in California or the Chicano Student Movement of Aztlán are now represented
through nonviolent protests by young, immigrant activists (who by birth are U.S. citizens)
striving to attain educational opportunities for themselves and the next generation. Collectively,
the methodology in the faith-based movement for Latino/a Catholics has reflected a need for
political progress and prosperity, but beyond that there exists a moral component in tune with
Catholic social teaching.
On immigration and the movement of peoples, Catholic social teaching provides three
basic principles: (1) people have the right to migrate to sustain their lives and the lives of their
families; (2) a country has the right to regulate its borders and to control immigration; and (3) a
country must regulate its borders with justice and mercy. Migration as a means to sustain life
reflects the purpose that all Latino/a Catholics have regarding their journey to the United States,
specifically their right to receive what is necessary for life – food, clothing, and shelter. In
addressing the lifestyle that exists for thousands in Latin America, Jon Sobrino describes how
most of the First World “does not want to acknowledge or face up to the reality of a crucified
world, and even less do we want to ask ourselves what is our share of responsibility for such a
world”10 (Sobrino, 5). Once they have escaped the corruption and violence in Latin America,
Latino/a Catholics live in fear, danger, or dehumanizing poverty all across the U.S. A passage in
Luke's Gospel that many Hispanic/Latino parishes often refer to is the one where the rich man is
condemned for living well while the poor man starved at his doorstep (Lk 16:19-31). Moreover,
the native does not have superior rights over the immigrant; before God all are equal. When a
Latino/a cannot achieve a meaningful and sustainable life in his or her own land, that person has
the right to migrate.
10 Sobrino, Jon. Awakening from the Sleep of Inhumanity. 5. Print.

10. 9
In regulating its borders, the U.S. has not fully accepted that individuals have the right to
move in search of a safe and humane life. Sobrino, through his analysis of the marginalized,
critiques this passive mentality stating that the First World “shows little or no interest to what is
truly human about human beings”11 (Sobrino, 6). Ordinarily, people do not leave the security of
their own land and culture just to seek adventure in a new place or merely to enhance their
standard of living. Instead, they migrate because they are desperate and the opportunity for a safe
and secure life does not exist in their own land. It has often been said that Americans should
cherish and celebrate the contributions of immigrants and their cultures; however, a more
important goal would be to work to make it unnecessary for people to leave their own land in the
first place. Because there seems to be no end to poverty, war, and misery in the world, developed
nations will continue to experience pressure from many peoples who want to establish a new life
in their lands. Catholic social teaching is realistic, focusing on mercy as “a basic attitude toward
the suffering of another, whereby one reacts to eradicate that suffering for the sole reason that it
exists”12 (Sobrino, 18). Those who work to enforce U.S. immigration laws are not always
explicit as to their sense of loyalty to the common good and compassion for poor people seeking
a better life. In an ideal world, though, there would be no need for immigration control, but
Hispanic/Latino parishes recognize that this ideal world has not yet been achieved.
Finally, with respect to the third principle, undocumented immigrants present a special
concern. Often their presence is considered criminal since they arrive without legal permission.
Under the harshest view, undocumented people may be regarded as undeserving of rights or
services. This is not the view of Catholic social teaching, rather it is one “ruled by the principle
11 Sobrino, Jon. Awakening from the Sleep of Inhumanity. 6. Print.
12 Sobrino, Jon. "Chapter 1: The Samaritan Church and the Principle of Mercy." The Principle of Mercy: Taking the
Crucified People from the Cross. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 1994. 18. Print.

11. 10
of mercy…a faith in the God of the wounded…the God of the victims”13 (Sobrino, 25).
Hispanic/Latino parishes reinforce that every person has basic human rights and is entitled to
have basic human needs met – food, shelter, clothing, education, and health care. Undocumented
migrants however, are particularly vulnerable to exploitation by employers, and they are not able
to complain because of the fear of deportation. Current immigration policy that criminalizes the
mere attempt to immigrate and imprisons immigrants who have committed no crime or who have
already served a just sentence for a crime is what most Latino/a Catholics deem as immoral.
Immigration policy that allows people to live here and contribute to society for years but refuses
to offer them the opportunity to achieve legal status does not serve the common good. For
Latino/a Catholics, therefore, the presence of millions of people living without easy access to
basic human rights and necessities is nothing less than a great injustice.
Recognizing the dignity of the human person against unjust governments is intrinsic to
the grassroots model of Hispanic/Latino parishes. Behind the various resources and proposed
methods characteristic of faith-based movements, Latino/a Catholics rely on intrinsic, moral
principles that serve as a guide in their coalition building towards obtaining both immigration
reform and political prosperity. A belief in the inherent dignity of immigrants (or of any human
person) is the foundation of all Catholic social teaching. Human life is sacred, and the dignity of
the human person is the starting point for a moral vision for society. Moreover, this principle is
grounded in the idea that the immigrant is made in the image of God; the person is the clearest
reflection of God among us. On the other hand, government and the state each have a positive
moral function that serves as an instrument to promote human dignity, protect human rights, and
build the common good. All people have a right and a responsibility to participate in political
13 Sobrino, Jon. "Chapter 1: The Samaritan Church and the Principle of Mercy." … 25. Print.

12. 11
institutions so that governments can achieve their proper goals. Despite keeping in tune with the
basic themes of Catholic social teaching, there are some Latino/a Catholics who have developed
“denominational shifts…the overwhelming majority of Latinos in the United States who leave
Roman Catholicism for another faith tradition have embraced Protestantism in its Pentecostal
and evangelical forms”14 (Matovina, 103). Catholic social teaching, therefore, provides a moral
framework by which Hispanic/Latino parishes have sought out helpful resources, as well as
formulated their proposed methods in favor of immigration reform and political representation.
Together with Catholic social teaching, a radical, democratic ideology pervades what
Hispanic/Latino faith-based movements center on: a new and improved vision of reality.
Creating an improved democracy in the U.S. has been the alternative sought out by
several Latino/a Catholics (and native-born citizens) for decades, mainly because their own
countries of origin have been destabilized to the point that democracy is nonexistent. Radical or
“participatory” democracy as proposed by Hispanic/Latino parishes focus on participation and
guarantee direct popular input in decision making in addressing local and national issues. In
doing so, radical democracy encourages the creation of a wide range of social movements and
organizations that reflect a multiplicity of concerns and interests. As Stout describes in a broader
sense, “citizens are individuals who treat one another as bearers of the relevant kind of
responsibility”15 (Stout, 10). The socialist governments of Venezuela, Bolivia, and Ecuador in
the second half of the twentieth century, for instance, hardly represent what Latino/a Catholics
desire in the United States. The democratic movements that Hispanic/Latino parishes have
advocated for decades have rarely involved violence, thereby “forming a church that is capable
14 Matovina, Timothy M. "Chapter 4: Parishes and Apostolic Movements." Latino Catholicism:Transformation in
America's Largest Church.Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 2012. 103. Print.
15 Stout, Jeffrey. "Chapter 1: The Responsibilities of a Citizen." Blessed Are the Organized: Grassroots Democracy
in America. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 2010. 10. Print.

13. 12
of challenging the reigning ethos that sustains America”16 (Hauerwas, 18) Nevertheless, while
the three Latin American nations have been subject to intense political conflict and class and
political polarization, the social democrats favored moderate policies designed to avoid discord
and achieve broad consensuses. In this sense, the three leftist regimes in Latin America resemble
Communist experiences in the Soviet Union and Cuba, characterized by head-on confrontations
with the opponents of far-reaching change as well as with institutions representing the old order.
In contrast to Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador, however, Latino/a Catholics in the U.S. reject the
power of Communist Parties, and those that discard the possibility of the peaceful transition to
democratic socialism.
The term “twenty-first century Latin American radical left” (TFCLARL) is largely
defined by the strategies followed in Venezuela, Bolivia, and Ecuador, and excludes more
moderate movements both in power and out of power. Radical democracy, as it originated for
Latino/a Catholics in the last few decades, presupposes advanced political consciousness in that
organizational and political maturity is a prerequisite for direct participation in decision-making.
A high level of consciousness, as Wendy Brown states, is necessary since “citizens cannot rule
themselves, even if that means only thoughtfully choosing representatives or voting on referenda,
let alone engaging in more direct practices of shared rule”17 (Brown, 175). By the turn of the first
century, the widespread protests against neoliberalism in Latin America encouraged greater
political diversity including nationalist leftist movements which firmly opposed U.S. policies.
These leftists rejected the policy of concessions to powerful economic groups implicit in the
strategy of center-left alliances. Moreover, the anti-neoliberal model associated with the
16 Hauerwas, Stanley. "Chapter 2: America's God." War and the American Difference: Theological Reflectionson
Violence and National Identity.Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2011. 18. Print.
17 Brown, Wendy. "Chapter 6: Educating Human Capital." Undoing the Demos Neoliberalism's Stealth Revolution.
New York, NY: Zone, 2015. 175. Print.

14. 13
TFCLARL combines representative democracy and radical democracy based on a tradition of
direct input in decision making. As the U.S. prepares for the 2016 presidential election, however,
these radical democratic principles will need to be linked not only to the Catholic faith, which is
essential for all Hispanic/Latino parishes, but also the greater push for immigration reform and
humanitarian concern.
While obviously not all Latino/a Catholics feel the exact, same way about any given
issue, many are drawn to Democratic candidates. The views of Latino/a voters on major issues
such as immigration reform, health care, criminal justice, the economy, and education tend to
line up more closely with Democratic platforms and, of course, Catholic social teaching. For one,
the traditional Republican stance on immigration is a big reason why they are less popular in
Hispanic/Latino communities than Democrats, who tend to be more in support of comprehensive
reform in this sphere. As the United States prepares to enter another election phase, the country
remains divided on the issue of undocumented migration and the rights surrounding those
considered “illegal.” Beyond his nativist rhetoric, Donald Trump has managed to rally immense
support, increasing his chances of becoming the GOP nominee for 2016. In response to his plan
of deporting all undocumented people in the U.S. within eighteen months, which is a huge
economic cost, several Hispanic/Latino parishes have attempted to not only challenge the nativist
mentality that has consumed the American public, but also rely on Catholic social teaching to
justify the humanity of the “other” that represents nearly thirteen million people in the U.S. As
opposed to the Constitution of the Founders, which “compresses the political role of the
citizen…designing it to minimize the direct expression of a popular will,”18 radical democracy
by Latino/a Catholics provides a shift towards a more egalitarian society (Wolin, 257).
18 Wolin, Sheldon S. "Chapter 12: Demotic Moments." Democracy Incorporated: Managed Democracy and the
Specterof Inverted Totalitarianism.Princeton: Princeton UP, 2008. 257. Print.

15. 14
Moreover, Latino/a Catholics are playing an increasingly impactful role in national politics, and
how they turn out next November stands to be a key factor in which party emerges in control of
the White House and Congress the following January.
Latino/as are the largest minority group in the U.S., comprising about 17% of the U.S.
population, and that number is only expected to grow: By 2060, it is estimated that Latino/as will
make up 29% of the population, which by then will produce a majority-minority nation. Both
parties have seriously considered the Hispanic electorate during their 2016 campaigns, and while
a lot of diversity is present within the American Hispanic population itself, there are certain
issues that have stood as consistent concerns for many voters. Moreover, as Hispanic/Latino
parishes continue to promote a radical, democratic system, many Latino/as and immigrants to the
U.S. believe it would be the correct means of establishing a just, social order. This, however, can
be brought about only through the continued maintenance of the relationship between Latino/a
Catholics and their respective parishes, those that aim towards an egalitarian society.
The future of Hispanic/Latino parishes and Catholicism in the U.S. will rely heavily on
the ability of the Church to attract and retain the radical, democratic ideology that is promoted by
Latino/a Catholics. In contrast with the present, the 1970s and early 1980s demonstrated how
Hispanics/Latinos shifted from representing 25% of the U.S. Catholic population, now
constituting 40% of all Catholics in the U.S. – over 29 million Latino/a Catholics. In addition,
according to a recent Boston College study, Hispanic ministry in parishes essentially serves
youth and young families, which presents an opportunity to shape a new generation for the faith-
based movement. In addition, on average, parishes with Hispanic ministries have more Catholics
attending Mass compared to all parishes nationwide, which may reflect greater devotional

16. 15
patterns and an intersection of faith and mobilization. Moreover, the parish model remains a very
important institution for U.S. Latino/a Catholics to build community and celebrate their faith.
Most pastoral leaders overseeing Hispanic ministry observe that integration into the life of the
parish among Hispanic Catholics of all ages – immigrants and U.S. born – remain at a minimal
on social and community-based levels. If mobilization towards achieving a more egalitarian
society among Latino/a Catholics is hindered, progress will only be delayed in the decades to
come. As Hispanic/Latino parishes enter the next generation, therefore, referring to the
appropriate resources and compatible methods of mobilization, those in accordance with
Catholic social teaching, will be the most crucial in obtaining basic human rights in the political
sphere of the United States.