Pope Francis Backs Texas Bishop Who Called Abbott “Racist” Over Immigration Policies

The Texas bishop who called Gov. Greg Abbott a racist over his immigration policies, says politicians are using the issue for political gain and that Pope Francis supports his ideas.

Bishop Mark Seitz of the Diocese of El Paso, has previously said that Abbott’s efforts to install razor wire along the border with Mexico were “racist”, and more recently that politicians in the election period “have latched on to immigration as a way to mobilize their bases.”

Seitz is chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Office of Migration.

He told the National Catholic Reporter that some Christians “are more formed, it seems, in their thoughts, in their behaviors, by the political sort of thinking than by church teaching.”

“They want to make their Christianity fit their political outlook rather than the other way around, and that concerns me also,” Seitz said.

Seitz also said the Vatican and Pope Francis have been supportive of his immigration message.

“It’s really been a tremendous support for my ministry,” Seitz told Newsweek. “I’m a bishop at the border. I deal with these issues every day as a matter of fundamental work of the church in caring for our poor who are among us. He’s given me the cover, if you will, to be able to speak to these issues.

Pope Francis has praised Seitz’s work on the Mexico-U.S. border, calling him a “great man.”

Seitz has also criticized Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for filing a lawsuit against the Annunciation House, a nongovernmental organization and a migrant shelter for allegedly engaging in criminal activity by assisting migrants.

Last month, a state judge blocked Paxton’s attempts to investigate the shelter suggesting the attorney general wanted to shut down the shelter for political reasons.

Pope Francis himself has said that he is a child of migrants and has said that protecting migrants is a duty of civilization.