Bishops, Borders, and the (Bully) Pulpit

“Texas Bishop Taking on Greg Abbott Gets Pope Francis’ Protection” is the curious title of an April 30th article in Newsweek. Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso needs “protection” from Greg Abbott? Are there Texas state troopers surrounding his house? Is he in imminent danger of arrest?

There are bishops in the world in imminent danger of those things and worse. A retired bishop in Mexico was just released by his kidnappers. Bishops in Africa face the constant threat of martyrdom. And Bishop Mark Seitz? He lives in a comfortable residence in El Paso, travels freely, and shows up regularly on podcasts and in the mainstream media.

Does he need “protection,” or is this just another example of progressives pretending they are being oppressed when they enjoy the favor of the mainstream media?

Bishop Seitz has been “taking on” Greg Abbott in the sense that he has been sharply critical of the governor and his efforts to stem the tide of illegal border crossings. I don’t recall the governor “taking on” Bishop Seitz or saying much of anything about him. Has he told people not to go to church? Has he demanded that the Vatican remove him as bishop? Of course not. This isn’t China. We don’t have that sort of cozy relationship with the Vatican. It’s easy to “stand up” to someone when there are no consequences for doing so.

Bishop Seitz claims that Texas officials’ efforts at the U.S.-Mexico border are “transparently political” and part of a “broader, brutal, historical project in Texas to criminalize and police people who migrate.” That’s an interesting claim. I’d like to see the historical evidence to back it up. It’s also an odd claim given that 40.2% of Texas’s population is Hispanic, while only 39.4% are non-Hispanic whites. The only state that comes close to that is California, whose population is 40% Hispanic. Houston, in fact, is demographically the most international city in the country, surpassing even Los Angeles and New York.

Continue reading at Catholic World Report

TAKE ACTION: Contact Bishop Seitz at 915-872-8419 or officeofthebishop@elpasodiocese.org and tell him to get out of the business of trafficking illegal aliens.