Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller delivers a Catholic response to the issue of immigration at the Mexican American Catholic College in San Antonio, Texas.

Archbishop García-Siller keynoted “The Church in America: A Conversation on Immigration,” an event co-sponsored by America Media and the Mexican American Catholic College. Norma Pimentel, M.J., executive director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley and Sean Carroll, S.J., executive director of the Kino Border Initiative in Nogales, Ariz., were respondents to the archbishop’s keynote.

Promising demographic data can easily be interpreted in a way that overlooks the textured history of Latino Catholics in the United States, one in which the very existence of Latino church communities has often come under threat.

Natalia Imperatori-Lee draws upon a variety of sources to develop an ecclesiology that is shaped by narratives as much as dogmatic theology.

"Young Latinos are engaged. They are open to giving of themselves,” Archbishop José Gomez said. “We need to be more conscious of ministries for young Catholics.”

Only about 8 percent of teachers in Catholic schools are Hispanic, compared with 17 percent of students. Low salaries and a weak professional pipeline make it difficult to diversify the teaching staff.