Monday, February 2, 2026
7:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. EST
Location: 125 E Street NW Capitol View Convening Space (9th floor)
What does the future hold for Latinos in a country increasingly hostile towards them? Drawing lessons from Latino art and politics, and inspired by the principles of Catholic social teaching, this dialogue will explore how the Latino community can respond to the growing racism that tries to diminish Latinos’ role in U.S. public life. It will address the rise of ethnic nationalism in U.S. politics and society and how the Latino community can respond.
The backlash to Bad Bunny’s halftime performance at the Super Bowl—the United States’ biggest sporting event of the year–has been just one instance of hostility towards the growing presence and leadership of ethnic minorities in U.S. society. In the past year, we’ve witnessed immigration policies that explicitly privilege white immigrants while targeting others with violence, efforts to discourage diversity in major institutions, and moves to end birthright citizenship, among other efforts. Catholic social teaching, which affirms the importance of cultural diversity and pluralism rooted in dialogue and encounter, provides lessons for navigating these worrying trends in U.S. society.
Christian Soenen, projects manager of the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life, will moderate the dialogue.
This gathering will have three parts:
6:00 - 7:00 p.m. | Welcoming Happy Hour
Meet and network with other young leaders over food and drink.
7:00 - 8:00 p.m. | Latino Leader Gathering
A conversation on “More than Just the Half-Time Show: Latino Culture, Backlash, and Belonging in the United States” with four leaders.
8:00 - 9:00 p.m. | Reception
Continue the conversation with other young leaders over food and drink.
This Latino Leader Gathering is for young adult Catholics to come together to explore links between faith, Catholic social thought, and their lives and work, especially on public policy.
Recording
For those who cannot join us in person, the dialogue starting at 7:00 p.m. EST will be livestreamed and posted online for later viewing.
Photo credit: Matt Green via Flickr
Participants
Anna Deeny Morales
Anna Deeny Morales is a poet, librettist, and fellow in the humanities at Georgetown University’s Center for Latin American Studies. Her works in opera and poetry have considered everyday family love; modes of empathy; patterns of political, legal, and religious violence; and family separation as a result of U.S. immigration enforcement.
Mark Hugo Lopez
Mark Hugo Lopez is director of race and ethnicity research at Pew Research Center. He is an expert on issues of racial and ethnic identity, Latino politics and culture, the U.S. Hispanic and Asian American populations, global and domestic immigration, and the U.S. demographic landscape.
Mike Madrid (SFS’97)
Mike Madrid is a political consultant and leading expert on Latino voters. He has served as political director for the California Republican Party, as senior adviser to both Democrats and Republicans, and co-founded the Lincoln Project. He is author of The Latino Century: How America's Largest Minority Is Transforming Democracy (2024).
Mar Muñoz-Visoso
Mar Muñoz-Visoso is executive director of the Secretariat for Cultural Diversity in the Church of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). In 2010 Pope Benedict XVI awarded her the Benemerenti Medal, one of the highest honors the pope can bestow on an individual, for “sustained and exemplary service to the Catholic faith.”
Related
Accessibility
All in-person accommodation requests should be sent to cathsocialthought@georgetown.edu by January 29. A good-faith effort will be made to fulfill requests.