Mark Seitz of El Paso is the first bishop from a state along the Mexico border to head the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ migration committee in at least 20 years
, who in December referred to the Virgin of Guadalupe, much-beloved among Latin American faithful, as"in the middle of the caravans who seek freedoms walking to the north."
The political advocacy of U.S. bishops stems from their mission to care for the most vulnerable, said Steven Millies, a professor at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. However, Millies said the USCCB tends to be most visible in its anti-abortion fight and other “culture wars,” getting entangled in partisan divisions that can undermine its advocacy for other causes.
A Milwaukee native who served as bishop of El Paso for the past decade -- which saw three U.S. administrations struggle to manage surges of arrivals of families from Central America and beyond -- Seitz knows the challenges first-hand.issued a stay for pandemic-era restrictionsSeitz had been working with churches and civil authorities “for a scenario in which higher numbers may be coming across than we’ve ever seen” if restrictions were lifted as expected on Dec.
Seitz created a relief fund that donated hundreds of thousands of dollars, notably for food and medicine, to shelters there. This fall,, said Dylan Corbett, director of Hope Border Institute, which manages the clinic. “Bishop Seitz urged parishes to open up empty spaces” like halls as temporary shelters, Gallagher added. His downtown church, Sacred Heart, has been hosting nearly 200 migrants nightly in the gym.
He’s just added a new one, from a mid-December trip to Guatemala to learn from grassroots organizations what pushes so many people on their dangerous northward journey.
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