The History of the National Encuentros

Fifty years after the closing of the Second Vatican Council, the Catholic Church began its implementation with the creation of consultative bodies at all levels of the church. This book examines the response of Hispanic American Catholics to the spirit of the Second Vatican Council. In the early 70's the Catholic bishops of the United States saw the need to address the growing Hispanic presence in the church. The concern of the bishops was to look for ways on how to integrate Hispanic Americans into the life of the church so that they could offer a process of integration, communion, and participation in the one Catholic Church of the United States.