I recently entered the phrase "Catholic Church decline" on Google and discovered a shocking 2 million entries. There is no shortage of people arguing that we are witnessing the end of Catholicism.

Paradoxically, the comments come from opposite ideological poles: from atheists and fringe cults as well as from those who consider themselves the most conservative of Catholics. Is there any truth to what they say?

According to the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, some forms of Christianity in the U.S. are indeed on the decline. Mainline Protestant denominations have gone from making up 64 percent of the population to barely 50 percent. Yet the study asserts almost quizzically that the "Catholic share of the population has remained relatively steady."

What could account for this? In California, projections from a study commissioned by Loyola Marymount University's Center for Religion and Spirituality show that our state's Catholic population will grow by nearly 5 million faithful in less than 20 years. That is certainly a robust faith community, and Catholics will make up a majority of Californians by 2025.

But here is a startling and important point: of those 5 million new Catholics more than 4.5 million will be Hispanics. In other words, for the Catholic Church to remain vital and alive in California, it must prepare its Hispanic Catholics who will account for almost 100 percent of its growth. "It is Hispanics who are replenishing the Catholic ranks," explained Luis E. Lugo, director of the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.

Time Magazine's research on population clarified further: As the U.S. population ages, Hispanics (whose median age is just 26 years old) account for half of the births in the country. "About one-third of Catholics in the United States are now Hispanic," the Pew study revealed.

So quite contrary to the "doomsayers," the projection of more than 12 million Hispanic Catholics in California in two decades underscores that the Catholic Church is alive, well and growing in our state. But there is a caution.

The study assumes something we cannot take for granted, and that is that at least 60 percent of Hispanics in California will stay Catholic. This needs urgent attention: How do we help this very young church who will be the Catholic leaders and parents of tomorrow remain Catholic?

The Pew study revealed some troubling trends in this area: "Thirteen percent of all Hispanics in the U. S. were once Catholic and left the church. Of Hispanic evangelical Protestants, half are converts - mostly former Catholics. Hispanics born in the United States are more likely to convert than are foreign-born immigrants."

Thus, since the continued vitality of the Catholic Church in the U.S. depends on the Hispanic members of the church, how do we ensure that those Catholics remain and grow in faith and commitment?

'Will they keep the faith?'
This was the central question that a group of Catholic leaders convened to consider at Boston College in June. Archbishop José Gomez of San Antonio laid out the challenge in his opening address: "As Hispanics become more and more successful, more and more assimilated into the American mainstream, will they keep the faith? Which path are they going to follow? Will they stay Catholic or will they drift away…?

"What will their relationship be to the Catholic Church? Will they live by the Church's teachings and promote and defend these teachings in the public square? Or will their Catholicism simply become a kind of "cultural" background…?

"These are all open questions as we move into the early 21st century. And the stakes are high…. Historically speaking, Hispanics have always been more than an ethnic group. To be Hispanic has always been to be Catholic."

The community gathered in Boston listened intently and then went to work. In an unprecedented effort initiated by three Catholic universities, 63 carefully chosen participants from all over the country took part in the first "National Symposium on the Present and Future of Catholic Hispanic Ministry in the U.S." The gathering included theologians, pastoral leaders, liturgists, youth leaders, specialists in religious education and persons in church leadership at the national and international levels.

"The symposium takes place in the context of important changes taking place in our country," Jesuit Father Allan Figueroa Deck, of the Secretariat of Cultural Diversity in the Church for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, told me. "It is heartening to see Catholic universities like Boston College, Loyola Marymount University and Barry University coming together to provide an excellent platform for convening leaders and thinkers in Hispanic ministry along with bishops to assess the present and plan for the future."

The uniquely designed meeting brought together scholars and Church leaders (Hispanic and non-Hispanic) to ponder, discuss and discern issues and make recommendations in intently focused study groups. "The symposium wanted to offer a fresh model of collaboration and dialogue," stressed Hosffman Ospino of Boston College, director of the symposium.

Those of us gathered knew we had come to answer the challenge posed by such a momentous demographic shift at a time when the Church's vocations and financial resources are deeply strained, consequently the study groups focused on practical and immediate questions.

Hispanic families: 'A true blessing'
Topics centered on developing resources and strategies for faith formation, youth and young adult ministry, social justice priorities, the development of leaders and of course the centrality of the liturgy and spirituality.

"Our Hispanic families are a true blessing to our communities and to our Catholic Church," encouraged Bishop Richard García of Monterey who also participated. "The diversity of gifts, family values and traditions they bring with them energize and motivate others in our communities. In particular, our youth from our Hispanic/ Latino families are and will be a powerful force in leadership in our church; we must walk with them and allow them to walk with us."

The working groups included bishops and renowned scholars working side-by-side with young leaders. Agreeing first that the task was very complex, the groups set about finding ways in which Hispanic Catholics and those wishing to minister with and to them may be trained and encouraged to be a source of energy, wisdom and selfless commitment to service in the Church of the 21st century.

"All Catholics," added Archbishop Gomez, "are called to be missionaries, to be leaders in proclaiming their faith, in preaching the Gospel with their lives."

Each of the study groups will propose concrete steps for implementation at the parish, school, diocesan, regional, seminary and university levels and identify areas in need of further conversation and exploration.

The documents resulting from the symposium will be published bilingually in early 2010 by Convivium Press and distributed by several well-known national publishers. Copies will also be made available to dioceses around the country.

The hope is that local communities will then carry on their own processes of dialogue about the issues and find ways to clarify their goals and enhance their local and regional programs in Hispanic Ministry.

"The fact that Hispanic Catholics will shortly become the majority among U.S. Catholics illuminated every conversation or reflection at the Symposium," added LMU's Robert Hurteau. "In this way, the Symposium attempted to engage the Church's head, heart, and legs (the Church's capacity for movement and pastoral action) at this time of historic change."

In our commitment to assess the effectiveness of the proposals and identify new issues as they arise, the Symposium hopes to meet again at Loyola Marymount University in 2014.

Dr. Cecilia González-Andrieu is assistant professor of theological studies at Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles. More information on the Hispanic Ministry Symposium is available at http://www.bc.edu/schools/stm/edevnts/hminsym.html.