The Hispanicization of American Catholicism

The New York Times Magazine has a major Christmas-eve cover story on "The Hispanicization of American Catholocism." From my initial quick read tonight, I find that the story puts heavy emphasis on the changes in the church in Los Angeles, but also paints a national portrait, including the following report from writer David Rieff:

"Nationally, Hispanics account for 39 percent of the Catholic population, or something over 25 million of the nation’s 65 million Roman Catholics; since 1960, they have accounted for 71 percent of new Catholics in the United States. The vast increase, both proportionally and in absolute numbers, is mostly because of the surge in immigration from Latin America, above all from Mexico, that has taken place over the course of the past three decades. Today, more than 40 percent of the Hispanics residing in the United States, legally and illegally, are foreign-born, and the fate of the American Catholic Church has become inextricably intertwined with the fate of these immigrants and their descendants."

Rieff explains these and other significant shifts in the church make-up and writes, later in the story that, "The question, though, is whether these changes represent something lasting. Is this a real turning point in the history of the American church that will lead to its enduring revival or, instead, only another cycle in that history? "

Rieff argues that, "The question, of course, is whether an increasingly conservative hierarchy, both in Rome and in the United States, will choose to allow it to remain so or will alter its course. It is this decision that will in the end determine whether the Hispanicization of the American church signals its rebirth or is a false dawn after all. "

I find it fascinating that this story is able to add another layer to the media's - and of course my own - growing interest in the Hispanic influence on America, and global issues as a result.

Click [here] for the article.