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Bishop Mark Seitz issues first pastoral letter on mass detention, deportations

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Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso, Texas, released the first pastoral letter on mass detention and deportations. The “current national campaign of mass detention and detention is a grave moral evil, one which must be opposed, with prayer, peaceful action, and acts of solidarity with those affected,” Seitz wrote. The Diocese of El Paso will hold a vigil on March 24 to “plead for respect for human life,”...
The strongest version of this narrative frames mass detention and deportations as a moral crisis, leveraging religious authority to challenge systemic injustices. Bishop Seitz’s pastoral letter is a rare and deliberate act of institutional opposition, grounding its critique in Catholic social teaching while appealing to both faith and conscience. The letter’s timing—during Lent—and its call for solidarity with immigrants amplify its emotional resonance, positioning the Church as a defender of th...