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“The Future of Latino Leadership in the U.S.” was addressed on Aug. 19 by Lionel Sosa, partner of Sosa Consultation and Design and CEO of MATT.org, Mexicans and Americans Thinking Together. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of American College Testing (ACT).
Sosa began his presentation by saying, “We’ve got a lot of research. We’ve got a lot of facts.”
He cited several numbers to back up that assertion, including:
• Fourteen percent of the U.S. population, or 45 million people, are Hispanic.
• There are 15 million more Latinos in the United States than there are people in Canada.
• The Hispanic population of the United States would be the third largest nation in Latin America, and by far the richest.
• Thirty-nine percent of the U.S. population is Catholic, and by 2020, 50 percent of the population will be.
• Of Catholics age 10 and under, 50 percent of that group is Hispanic.
“It’s up to us. We are the leadership,” said Sosa, a member of the Texas Business Hall of Fame. “Latinos are the leaders in the growth of Catholicism in the United States.”
However, in response to the question, “How are we doing?” the advertising executive painted a much more negative picture. “There are fewer parishes, fewer priests and fewer Catholics in the pews. In 1987, 44 percent of Catholics attended church regularly. By 2005, the figure was down to 33 percent.
He quipped, Catholics are General Motors and Protestants are Toyota. They are catching up.”
Sosa attributed some of this malaise to his assertion that the Catholic Church in the United States takes Latinos for granted. “Instead of reaching out, we are acting like a utility company, saying ‘We’ve got something valuable, you come to us.’ We don’t think that way or overtly act that way. It’s a mistake, and today we have to reach out.”
The founder of Sosa, Bromley, Aguilar and Associates, the largest Hispanic advertising agency in the United States, recalled how more than five decades ago the Emmy for outstanding television personality was awarded to Bishop Fulton Sheen. “In 1955, we had 100 percent share of voice. Now we have 1 percent share of voice. Sunday morning is dominated by televangelists. Personality after personality owns the airwaves. We decided we didn’t have to reach out,” Sosa lamented.
He emphasized that the church needs to reach out with a marketing plan and stressed the need to set a clear goal that cannot be misinterpreted.
“Understand the trends. Understand the competition. Understand our target audience. What they know, what they fear, what they want,” said Sosa. “Why aren’t we doing our homework about what they’re doing? It’s a matter of the message. Present a message to inspire them and make them want to build a better world.”
The Hispanic media consultant to six Republican presidential campaigns noted the power of words and the power of communication. “There is always a way to get words to do the job. Sometimes you do research and sometimes you don’t and you just go with your gut,” he said. “The sexual abuse scandal will always be a part of our legacy, but we have to go forward with all of the good things we do. Say, ‘Catholic Church, this is what we are going to do.’”
The author of Think and Grow Rich, a Latino Choice, concluded, “All we need is the will and the plan. There is nothing standing in our way unless we make it so.”
LAW AND RELIGION
Another San Antonio native, United States Circuit Judge Emilio Garza of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, later presented, “The Nexus between Law and Religion.”
The judge explored why national morality cannot prevail in law. “Some think constitutional democracy will save us. It has done a lot, no doubt about it. But democracy does not contain enough positive forces to stand on its own,” Garza said.
He also examined the Constitution and the theory behind it. “The separation of powers is part of the success of government,” said the Notre Dame graduate. “The second underpinning of that was that people believed in God. People simply told the truth.”
Garza explained that the issues today are not theocracy, but what rights as human being we are going to protect. “What idea of the human person should we have, should we believe in?” he asked.
The former Marine advocated returning to a theory which recognizes limits.
Garza cautioned listeners against saying anything bad about other Christians, and quoted from author Erik Vokland, “The truth of man and the truth of God are inseparably one. The concept of God impinges on the concept of ourselves.”
He continued, “Christ equated himself to God himself. No one else in history has made a similar claim. He also equated himself to the least, the poor, the disadvantaged, the immigrant,” said the Alamo city attorney. “We have obligations both to state and to God. It separates the sacred from the profane. The earthly kingdom is not the kingdom of God. Repay God with good deeds and a contrite heart. The earthly city has no moral sway on the eternal city. We are citizens of both cities.”
Recalling the words of the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, “God is dead and we have killed him,” Garza described how the Constitution embodies faith, but that values are not truth, and without a moral or ethical foundation law is reduced to legalism and power.
“Nietzsche is not simply atheism, it is metaphysical murder. You encourage others to do so,” said the graduate of the University of Texas School of Law. “Can an individual be the king’s good servant if he is God’s first, or can an individual be the king’s good servant if he is not God’s first? The assumption is that man’s law is consistent with God’s laws,” Garza surmised.
Part III will feature presentations by Archbishop José H. Gomez and Guzman Carriquiry Lecour, undersecretary of the Pontifical Council of the Laity at the Vatican. |