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Border bishop takes lead role in Catholic migrant ministry

Troops stand guard the along the U.S.-Mexico border in El Paso, Texas, on Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2022. (AP Photo/Giovanna Dell'Orto) The Most Rev. Mark Seitz, the Catholic bishop of El Paso, Texas, speaks during an interview on the grounds of the Catholic Diocese of El Paso, on Monday, Dec. 19, 2022. “Why do we tend to look at [migrants] and say, ‘I think they’re probably criminals,’ instead of to look at them and say, ‘I think they’re probably people in need’?” Seitz said, adding that he also sees a need for “a more orderly process for people to be able to cross.” (AP Photo/Lekan Oyekanmi) Razor wire is strung along the U.S.-Mexico border in El Paso, Texas, on Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2022. (AP Photo/Giovanna Dell'Orto) The Most Rev. Mark Seitz, the Catholic bishop of El Paso, Texas, stands for a portrait near supplies and clothes in a shelter for migrants on the grounds of the Catholic Diocese of El Paso in El Paso, Texas, on Monday, Dec. 19, 2022. “I think most people would be surprised, and I hope pleasantly surprised, to see the degree of unanimity among the bishops on this question of immigration,” Seitz says. “So many of the bishops have come up to me and expressed … a concern about how we need to better to welcome [migrants].” (AP Photo/Lekan Oyekanmi) Migrants wait for help in a shelter for migrants on the grounds of the Catholic Diocese of El Paso in El Paso, Texas, on Monday, Dec. 19, 2022. On both sides of the border, faith-based organizations have historically done most of the work caring for migrants. Their efforts are particularly visible when unprecedented numbers of new arrivals overwhelm local and federal authorities in cities like El Paso, leaving thousands in the streets. (AP Photo/Lekan Oyekanmi) Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso sits for a portrait in his office in El Paso, Texas, on Monday, April 4, 2022. The friendship bracelets on his wrist were braided by girls housed at a shelter on nearby Fort Bliss Army base for unaccompanied minors who crossed the U.S.-Mexican border. “Immigrants have had the experience of leaving everything that helped them to feel at home and secure in this life behind, and to depend utterly on God as they journey. ... They have so much to teach us about how God will accompany us on our journey,” Seitz says. (AP Photo/Giovanna Dell'Orto)
Border bishop takes lead role in Catholic migrant ministry