A recent survey that reveals a mixed-bag of Catholic perceptions on immigration, including responses that don’t align with Church teaching, brings Bishop Mark Seitz back to the question that Church leaders often grapple with in this age of secularisation: How can they form the conscience of their members, and shape them according to Christ’s message?
“That gets down to the very basis, the very foundation, of how we as a Church can help people to live a Christian life, and the truth is that we are very limited in that, especially now that people are losing the conviction that part of being a Catholic/Christian is worshiping on Sunday,” Bishop Seitz, the bishop of El Paso and Chair of the US Bishops’ Conference Committee on Migration, told Crux.
“As we lose that conviction, we don’t even have them for that 50 minutes to an hour on Sunday, but that is such a bare minimum,” Bishop Seitz explained. “So where do Catholics/Christians turn? Where can they turn to really hear how the gospel should be impacting their daily lives?”