Hispanic Catholic leaders from around the world are meeting Friday and Saturday (July 31 and Aug. 1) at the University of Notre Dame for a conference titled “Camino a Emaús: The Word of God and Latino Catholics.”
The conference, sponsored by the American Bible Society and Notre Dame’s Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism, is intended to deepen appreciation of the Bible and its role in the life and mission of the Church.
Speakers at the conference include Cardinal Francis George, archbishop of Chicago and president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops; Carmen Cervantes, of the Instituto Fe y Vida; Archbishop Nikola Eterović, general secretary of the Synod of Catholic Bishops; Renata Furst of Assumption Seminary in San Antonio; Archbishop José Gómez of San Antonio; Hosffman Ospino of Boston College; and Liana Lupas of the American Bible Society.
“Latino Catholics’ hunger for the Bible resonates with the recent Bishops’ Synod on the Word of God that Pope Benedict convened last year,” said Timothy Matovina, director of the Cushwa Center. “The time is ripe for a conference that advances the Synod’s objective of renewing God’s holy word as ‘a living, piercing and active force in the heart of the Church.’ Notre Dame is an ideal setting for such a conference, and we at the Cushwa Center are delighted to join our colleagues from the American Bible Society in convening it.”
“Since 1816, the American Bible Society has been a pioneer in making the Bible attainable to all Americans,” said Mario Paredes, American Bible Society’s Presidential Liaison for Hispanic/Latino Projects and Roman Catholic Ministry. “The Camino a Emaús conference brings together American Bible Society resources with a distinguished panel of church leaders and teachers who continue to equip the Church in exploring, engaging and experiencing the Bible. It is the perfect opportunity for Hispanic Catholics to reflect on the importance of Scripture and how it applies to the Church.”
With sessions in both English and Spanish, the Camino a Emaús conference will focus on such topics as how the Bible affects liturgy, catechesis, prayer, evangelization, study, youth ministry, preaching, communal life and culture for Hispanic Catholics, who make up nearly 40 percent of all Catholics in the United States and are the fastest growing segment of the Catholic church in the country.
Headquartered in New York City, the 193-year-old American Bible Society has a mission to make the Bible available to every person in a language and format each can understand and afford, so that all people may experience its life changing message.
The Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism, founded in 1975, is widely recognized as the leading center for the historical study of Roman Catholicism in the United States. The center is dedicated to providing resources and commentary on U.S. Catholicism and to collaborating with Church leaders to enhance Catholic life in the United States.
A conference schedule and more information about the conference are available on the Cushwa Center’s Web site at http://www.nd.edu/~cushwa/conference/Camino_a_Emaus.shtml.