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Latino in America

by Rachel Campos-Duffy 

There’s a lot of talk these days about Latinos in America: Latino food, music and of course the hot button issues of immigration, teenage pregnancy and dismal graduation rates.

CNN’s Soledad O’Brien recently launched a documentary, “Latino in America”, in an attempt to define what “Latino” means and hopefully dispel some of the stereotypes.  In news segments leading up to the special, I was asked by CNN to participate in two separate panels to discuss the topic and analyze the documentary. 

To its credit, the documentary did not ignore the Church and featured Pedro Moreno Garcia, the former head of Hispanic Ministry for the Diocese of St. Louis. Moreno Garcia helped explain some of the changes Hispanics are bringing to the American Catholic experience and helped tell the story of St. Cecilia, a parish torn by the divide and hard-feelings caused by separate Masses, parish councils and church activities for Spanish-speaking parishioners.

Yet, I longed for the documentary to go deeper into the powerful influence of the Catholic Church in the culture and family life of everyday Latinos, something beyond the debate and controversy over English versus Spanish language in church.  I wanted the documentary to help Latinos and non-Latinos watching the program understand the inextricable marriage of faith, culture and family that is at the heart of the most positive images our community has to offer. Yet on the panel, when we were asked to define what it meant to be Latino, I was alone in mentioning the Church, and there was very little interest in discussing the role of Catholicism or its influence on the various social issues that Hispanics care most about – particularly abortion, which, according to a Zogby poll, an overwhelming 40% of Hispanics believe should never be legal.

My mother told me about a former pupil of hers at the public school where she taught English-as-a second language to Hispanic kids, most of them children of illegal immigrants. This student’s mother, who at the time was in her early 40s, went to see a doctor upon finding out that she was pregnant.  Her American doctor told her that due to her age, her unborn child was likely to be born with Down Syndrome. The woman’s older daughter translated the doctor’s recommendation that she should abort the child, the sooner the better. Then her daughter translated her mother’s response back to the doctor: “This child was given to me by God, and I will keep him because God is in charge and will help me provide for whatever his needs will be.” As it turned out, the child was born healthy and without Down Syndrome.

The unquestionable abhorrence Hispanics have for abortion speaks volumes about the enduring traditional nature of the Hispanic family. Despite our exposure to a very liberal and secular American culture, one that is increasingly bringing Hispanic divorce rates and other social ills in line with the rest of society, Hispanic values remain deeply rooted in Catholicism and its unwavering teachings on the dignity of all human life.  It’s therefore not hard to see why the Church and Latino culture share a preoccupation with issues of social justice and an understanding that abortion is ultimately about injustice, and the triumph of the powerful over the weak.  Abortion is also an issue that transcends assimilation, uniting first-generation Hispanics, who are largely Spanish-speaking and poor, with second, third and fourth-generation Hispanics, who are far more educated, prosperous and assimilated into American culture.

Hispanics are the fastest growing demographic in our country and in our Church.  The issues that unite us as Catholics are far greater than those that divide us culturally.  There is much that the American culture can learn from the primacy that Hispanics place on children and families.  But there is far more that we can all learn from the true guardian of life, values and families – the Catholic Church.

 

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(The views expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of Headline Bistro or the Knights of Columbus.)