The 14th annual Hispanic Charismatic Congress for the Diocese of Sioux City, Iowa, was held July 14-15 at a conference center in South Sioux City, Nebraska, just across the Missouri River. Although Adrian Paz of Denison, Iowa, was pleased that attendance had increased at this year's Hispanic charismatic congress, real-world issues may have kept some away.

Alicia Carrillo is one of the 20,000 new Hispanic Catholic ministry leaders that the National Fifth Encuentro of Hispanic Latino Ministry process aims to identify and train.

In an unremarkable-looking conference room at a hotel in downtown Portland -- a city known for its dearth of traditional religious practice -- a gathering of Catholics from five states did something remarkable.

Prosecutor Emiliano Arias, who led the search in Santiago, said the church raids show that in Chile "we are all subject to common justice."

At the Region VI Encuentro June 2-3 in Detroit, dioceses were asked to encourage priests and lay leaders to learn more about and provide space for Hispanic devotions and traditions.

Overall, about 40 percent of U.S. Catholics are Hispanic, according to the survey.