National Profile
The vast majority of DHMs are priests and sisters who are highly educated and bilingual, and most have served in their position for less than 5 years. The directors’ low average tenure can be attributed to two factors: high turnover rates, and the incidence of new Hispanic Ministry offices. Despite their education and language skills, most DHMs earn extremely low annual salaries (i.e. below $30,000). This is due to their ecclesial status and to their lack of longevity. However, generous car, housing and travel allowances and comprehensive medical benefits offer partial compensation for these salaries.
The career paths of the DHMs reflect a specific commitment to serving Hispanics. This professional dedication to Hispanics is both understandable and admirable; however, it may also reflect an unwillingness of many DHMs to expand their professional horizons beyond the orbit of Hispanic Ministry. A large percentage of the DHMs have extensive experience in parish lay ministry, especially ministry to Hispanics; some also have experience in the private sector and academia. However, only a minority of the DHMs have served on the staff of another diocesan department, and surprisingly few expressed an interest in becoming the director of one of these departments.
The DHMs enjoy good access to their Bishop but their relatively brief tenure and their lack of diocesan experience limit the cooperation they receive from their diocesan counterparts. Discrimination also plays a role in limiting both access and cooperation. For example, about a fifth of the directors encounter extremely poor cooperation from their diocesan counterparts due, in their view, to outright discrimination. In general, based on the data and the interviews, there appears to be a very strong correlation between the directors’ perception of discrimination and the degree of cooperation they receive from their diocesan counterparts.
Discrimination may also be an important factor inhibiting DHM mobility. Only a small percentage (7%) of directors have applied for other diocesan director positions; however, all of them felt that other, less-qualified individuals were able to secure those jobs. It is not clear how many DHMs decide not to apply for other diocesan positions because they perceive that hiring discrimination would be likely.
Some improvements in these areas can be expected to occur in those dioceses that participated heavily in Encuentro 2000 and that are committed to local follow up. As part of this unfolding process, the directors would like to see their dioceses develop mechanisms for increasing Hispanic representation and leadership at all levels, including the adoption of more culturally sensitive hiring and promotion standards.
AUTHOR: Stewart J. Lawrence, Puentes, Inc.,
September 20, 2000, Washington, DC
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