The proximity of the shrine of Texas liberty and the cathedral church of the archdiocese of San Antonio prompts a reflection on the paradoxes of Catholic history in the New World and the contemporary challenges facing Catholicism on both sides of the Rio Grande, including the question as to whether an increasingly Hispanic Church in the United States, with Mexican-born bishops assuming the leadership of the Church in places like both Los Angeles and San Antonio, challenge its brethren south of the Rio Grande to stop blaming their problems on "El Norte" and to become the protagonists of their own history.