ABSTRACT
The objective-and challenge-of the bishops of the United States has been to build one church out of many ethnic groups. In the main that has happened, though some groups took longer than others to become part of the melting-pot church. Hispanics, however, remain a people apart. They continue to cling to their culture and maintain at least some of their religious traditions. There is "social distance" between them and the institutional Church. For some it is a vague discomfort of not feeling at home. For others, it is the perception that the clergy are not interested in them. Moreover, Hispanics in the main have no role in ministry: episcopal, clerical, religious, or lay. They are the objects of ministry rather than its agents.
