“Social data show that Latinos leave the Catholic faith at the same rate as every other ethnic group,” Archbishop Chaput warned. “So the idea that more Latinos automatically mean a more 'Catholic' America is just pious self-delusion.”
But Latinos' faith and culture can be “very great goods for our Church and for American life,” if individuals, families, and communities are willing to be formed by the teachings of the Church, and live them out.
“Being truly 'Catholic' in 2011 - whether we trace our roots to Mexico, or France, or Ireland, or Korea - means one thing: it means living a life of sacrificial witness,” said the Denver archbishop and Archbishop-designate of Philadelphia. “The privilege of that witness will fall especially on leaders.”
The afternoon continued with a panel discussion on immigration, featuring Phoenix Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted as well as University of Colorado Economics Professor Dr. Brian Cadena and veteran immigration lawyer Carlos Iturregui.
In his heartfelt remarks, Bishop Olmsted noted that “being Catholic and trying to deal with the issue of immigration is a daily invitation to share in the passion of Christ” and “to be one in this great suffering this issue has caused.”
Bishop Olmsted stressed the Church's role as a moral voice in a contentious and emotional debate.
“I think our whole country could learn from the Catholic perspective,” the Arizona bishop said. “To be Catholic is to embrace, with respect, every culture, every nation, language, race, and ethnic group.”
Bishop Olmsted also explained that faith confirms an already-existing sense of humanity's oneness and universal dignity. In reality, he said, those divided by nationality are already “brothers and sisters to one another” - and the real question is “whether we'll live as who we are.”
Bishop Olmsted also spoke of how the Virgin Mary - in her significance for North American Catholics, as Our Lady of Guadalupe - can bring believers of all backgrounds together, and overcome the divisions that prevent charitable and truthful discussion.
Catholic philanthropist and investor Frank Hanna spoke at dinner on Saturday, drawing laughter as he announced that his theme was, “How Catholic Latinos can become the wealthiest people in the world.” But Hanna's concept of wealth is not simply a matter of money, having more to do with people's sense of hope and the integrity of their relationships.
“I think we need a new philosophy of wealth,” Hanna proposed. “The word comes from the Middle English word 'weal, ' meaning 'well-being.'” True wealth, he explained, is not the “economic net worth” calculated on a balance sheet.
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“Wealth is a measure of our well-being, most accurately measured in the quality of the human capital, the relationships we possess, and the hope and expectations of those relationships,” he said.
And it's in this sense that Hanna believes Latino Catholics can find surpassing wealth.
“The Latino culture is not one of raw materialism - and the Anglo culture knows that about the Latino culture," Hanna observed. "The Latino culture is not one of the individual, but of the Church and the family, and that's another area where you can lead us.”
Saturday night ended on a poignant note, as Archbishop Chaput - a member of CALL's board of directors, who will leave Denver to become Archbishop of Philadelphia in September - received gifts and expressions of appreciation from the association's Denver chapter.
Archbishop Chaput was visibly moved, but joked that the “best thing” he had done as Archbishop of Denver was to ordain Archbishop Gomez in 2001. The Los Angeles archbishop, who was Archbishop Chaput's auxiliary in Denver for four years after that ordination, rose from his seat to embrace his consecrator and fellow bishop.
The following morning, Archbishop Chaput celebrated Sunday Mass for conference attendees, concelebrating with Archbishop Gomez as well as Bishop Olmsted and other clergy gathered in Denver.