Denver Catholic

INDEX Archbishop's Column ......................2 The Catholic Difference ..................4 Real Life Catholic .............................4 Photo essay: May Crownings ........6 Puzzle Page ......................................13 Nun of the Above quiz ...................13 Bulletin Board ................................. 14 Service Directory ...................... 14-15 MAY 14, 2014 114 Years of Service to the Gospel Volume XC - No. 19 www.DenverCatholicRegister.org I Follow us on BY WAYNE LAUGESEN It used to be a reliable as- sumption. Hispanics in the United States, particularly Lat- in American immigrants, were Catholic. But a survey by the Pew Re- search Center, released earlier this month, reportedly found a substantial decline in the percentage of Hispanics who self-identify as Catholic. Fifty-five percent of the country's Latino adults belong to the Church, Pew researchers say, which is a drop of 12 per- centage points from a similar report released in 2010. The survey found 18 percent are unaffiliated, 22 percent evan- gelical or mainline Protestant, and 4 percent identify as "other Christian" or "other." More than half of Catholics in the Archdiocese of Denver are Hispanic and the Church stepped up efforts to cate- chize and support immigrants and other Latinos more than a decade ago. The archdiocese opened Centro San Juan Diego in 2003, which supports immi- grants with pastoral and family services. "Our Hispanic ministry is a model for the rest of the country," said Karna Swanson, director of communications for the Archdiocese of Denver. "We take very seriously our role in helping immigrants to grow and maintain their faith." The Pew survey did not break down the country by regions, so no data indicate whether Denver and northern Colorado are defying the trend. Parishes throughout the archdiocese offer 86 Masses each week in Spanish. Swan- son said 60 priests, out of a to- tal of more than 300, and seven deacons in the archdiocese are Hispanic or Spanish-speaking, and that the number contin- ues to grow. Though secular media re - port the new numbers as a sky-is-falling scenario, Swan- son said the big picture is more positive. A 71 percent retention rate among Catholic Hispanics defies success sta- tistics of nearly all other major denominations. "As immigrants assimilate, many will take on secular as- pects of American culture," Swanson said. "They are no different than Irish or Italian immigrants in that regard." Msgr. Jorge De los Santos, archdiocesan vicar for Hispanic Future hopeful for Hispanic Catholics, despite recent trends PHOTO BY MARCO BRIONES/EL PUEBLO CATOLICO ALTAR servers process into Mass at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Denver on Dec. 8, feast of the Immaculate Conception. INSIDE ARCHBISHOP'S CATHOLIC APPEAL VOCATIONS PAGE 3 PAGE 2 Men find freedom, grace in answering God's call PHOTO BY ROBERT LINN/DCR Central office 'pays it forward' to 40 Catholic schools WORLD/NATION GRADUATION PULL-OUT PAGE 11 PAGES B1-B12 Stepping forward in faith Vatican calls on Boko Haram to release kidnapped schoolgirls See Hispanics, Page 7

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