Publisher Description

The Roman Catholic Church and the U.S. labor movement are missing an opportunity to work together to promote the well-being of Latino immigrants, the majority of whom are Catholic. The relationship between the Church and labor has stagnated because the U.S. labor movement (not unlike the Democrat Party) is taking political and social positions on abortion, same sex marriage, and school vouchers that are inimical to Catholic thinking despite the fact that the Church and Latinos immigrants are culturally conservative. Strangers in a Foriegn Land: The Organizing of Catholic Latinos in the U.S. argues that labor groups would enjoy a better relationship with a natural institutional ally by taking no position on these culture war positions. Author George Schultze also takes the position that the Catholic Church should should be taking steps to promote worker-owned cooperatives in the Mondrag-n Cooperative Corporation tradition, which recognizes the beneficial role of free market economies.

Latin Americans make up the largest new immigrant population in the United States, and Latino Catholics are the fastest-growing sector of the Catholic Church in America. In this book, historian David A. Badillo offers a history of Latino Catholicism in the United States by looking at its growth in San Antonio, Chicago, New York, and Miami. Focusing on twentieth-century Latino urbanism, Badillo contrasts broad historic commonalities of Catholic religious tradition with variations of Latino ethnicity in various locales. He emphasizes the contours of day-to-day life as well as various aspects of institutional and lived Catholicism. The story of Catholicism goes beyond clergy and laity; it entails the entire urban experience of neighborhoods, downtown power seekers, archdiocesan movers and shakers, and a range of organizations and associations linked to parishes. Although parishes remain the key site for Latino efforts to build individual and cultural identities, Badillo argues that one must consider simultaneously the triad of parish, city, and ethnicity to fully comprehend the influence of various Latino populations on both Catholicism and the urban environment in the United States. By contrasting the development of three distinctive Latino communities—the Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, and Cuban Americans—Badillo challenges the popular concept of an overarching "Latino experience" and offers instead an integrative approach to understanding the scope, depth, and complexity of the Latino contribution to the character of America's urban landscapes.

There is a wide and growing gap in the Catholic Church in the United States between the clergy, who are mostly of European descent, and the large percentages of Catholics who identify as Latinos. While the US Church has made a concerted effort to build Hispanic ministries, many clergy and lay ministers are still ill-equipped to understand the cultural background of their parishioners, especially the large numbers who are foreign born. Because of this disconnect, the Church risks missing "the Hispanic Moment" in the US Church, in which the faith and traditions of these newest waves of US immigration could not just exist in parallel to English-language congregations, but enrich and enliven the faith of the whole community while passing on the faith to subsequent generations.Learning Spanish--while helpful--is not enough. There are intercultural competencies that can only be developed through practice, but it also helps already-busy clergy to have a concise guide. In addition to knowing the scholarly literature on cross-cultural preaching and Hispanic culture, Father Michael Kueber has twenty years of experience serving first generation Hispanic immigrants and their second generation children. In Preaching to Latinos, Kueber provides the readers with best practices for preaching to and leading their churches. As a member of an ecumenical community, he is able to speak to members of all Christian denominations.

Discusses the growing population of Hispanic-Americans worshipping in the Catholic Church in the United States.

Daniel Rodriguez argues that effective Latino ministry and church planting is now centered in second-generation, English-dominant leadership and congregations. Based on his observation of cutting-edge Latino churches across the country, Rodriguez reports on how innovative congregations are ministering creatively to the next generations of Latinos.

The Latina/o culture and identity have long been shaped by their challenges to the religious, socio-economic, and political status quo. Robert Chao Romero explores the "Brown Church" and how this movement appeals to the vision for redemption that includes not only heavenly promises but also the transformation of our lives and the world.