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Catholic priest who criticized Trump immigration crackdown named bishop
The appointment gives West Virginia Catholics a bishop who has criticized immigration crackdowns and will oversee 61,000 Catholics and 92 parishes.
- On Friday, Pope Leo XIV appointed Most Rev. Evelio Menjivar-Ayala as the new leader of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, replacing Most Rev. Mark Brennan, who served as West Virginia's bishop since 2019.
- Fleeing El Salvador's civil war as a teen in the late 1980s, Menjivar-Ayala crossed illegally into the United States in 1990, then gained humanitarian protection and became a U.S. citizen two decades ago.
- Overseeing 61,000 Catholics across 92 parishes in West Virginia, where 92.6% of residents identify as white and only 2.4% are Latino, Menjivar-Ayala transitions from his Washington archdiocese where more than 40% of parishioners are Latino.
- Menjivar-Ayala has criticized the Trump administration's immigration enforcement as a "shock and awe" campaign of aggressive threats, stating that regarding raids affecting immigrants, "that could have been me."
- Pope Leo also named Colombia-born Rev. John Gomez as bishop of the Diocese of Laredo, Texas, on Friday; foreign-born clergy remain essential as U.S. priestly ordinations have declined for decades.
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28 Articles
28 Articles
From Illegal Immigrant to Outspoken Bishop: Menjivar-Ayala Was Inspired by the Murdered Oscar Romero
·Amsterdam, Netherlands (Kingdom of the)
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Koco News5+24 Reposted by 24 other sources
Catholic priest who criticized Trump immigration crackdown named bishop
West Virginia's next Catholic bishop was born in El Salvador and has been critical of President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown
·Oklahoma City, United States
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Kathleen Jacobs: WV Catholic Church fascinated by outsiders (Opinion)
Lori Kersey, writing for West Virginia Watch, in an article titled “Pope names Menjivar-Ayala, immigrant from El Salvador, to lead Catholic Church in WV,” dated May 1, reported that the newly appointed bishop will be formally installed on July 2…
·Charleston, United States
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The news Evelio Menjivar-Ayala, a bishop in the United States of Trump who entered the country as an undocumented immigrant first appeared in Breaking News
Coverage Details
Total News Sources28
Leaning Left1Leaning Right1Center25Last UpdatedBias Distribution92% Center
Bias Distribution
- 92% of the sources are Center
92% Center
C 92%
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