AP Interview: New bishop to advocate for Hispanic population
By JON GAMBRELL
Wednesday, June 4, 2008 3:46 PM CDT

LITTLE ROCK - For those who cite the Bible verse about rendering unto Caesar what is owed to the government when talking about illegal immigration, Arkansas' new Catholic bishop says they ought to draw meaning from the entire passage.

"The next part is render unto God what is God's and people have certain inalienable rights that come from God and do not depend on recognition by the state. Even our own Constitution recognizes that and the right to immigrate is an inalienable right," Bishop-elect Anthony B. Taylor told The Associated Press in an interview Wednesday. "We had the same issue in the civil rights movement 40 years ago. ... It's a sin to obey an unjust law. It was a sin to participate in the oppression of black people 40 years ago."

Taylor, 54, will be installed Thursday as the bishop and leader of the Little Rock diocese, which oversees all the Catholic churches in the state. Speaking from his wood-paneled office, Taylor acknowledged the importance of reaching the diocese's Hispanic congregants, who represent more than half of the church's 116,000 parishioners in the state. He also said he would continue opposing abortion and the death penalty from his new position, as well as reach out to those outside of his church in an overwhelmingly Baptist state.

"I would consider everyone in Arkansas part of my flock," he said. "I believe that the Catholic faith proclaims the teaching of Jesus in its fullest form and I would like to share that with everybody, but respectfully."

Pope Benedict XVI named Taylor bishop of the Diocese of Little Rock on April 10. Taylor replaces Bishop J. Peter Sartain, who was named bishop in Joliet, Ill., two years ago.

Born in Texas, Taylor moved to Ponca City, Okla., as a child when his father took a new job with Continental Oil. He took Spanish classes in both high school and college, which aided him as he took his first position as a priest 28 years ago at Sacred Heart Church in Oklahoma City.

Taylor said at the time, Oklahoma had only three Masses in Spanish, all at one parish. Now, priests hold 47 Spanish-language Masses in 36 parishes across the state _ a reflection of the growing wave of Latin American immigrants coming into the United States. It's a change also felt by Arkansas, which saw its Hispanic population go from under 20,000 in 1990 to more than 150,000 today.

Taylor said many of those coming are poor, looking for work and wages to better the lives of themselves and their families. Those new congregants want to baptize their children, but also often ask for help from the church to write letters to immigration officials, sign leases and conduct other personal business, he said.

As that population grows, so does criticism of illegal immigration from politicians and others. Studies conclude about half of Arkansas' immigrant population lives in the country illegally. A ballot measure proposed for the November general election would force all those older than 13 seeking state benefits or services to sign an affidavit promising they were legal U.S. residents.

Taylor, who signed a statement of resistance against similar laws passed in Oklahoma, said most illegal immigrants don't seek benefits at all. He worries measures like that could force those with children who are legal U.S. citizens to avoid emergency rooms and hospitals out of fears they could be deported.

"You come to a place of necessity oftentimes and you fall in love with the place, you write letters home to your family bragging about the new place you live and talking about your hopes and your dreams and things like that," Taylor said. "When people are told 'we don't want you, go away,' it's kind of like someone who has been in love and then rejected."

However, Taylor stressed his ministry in Arkansas would go beyond caring for Hispanic members of his church. Taylor served as a religious counselor to Eric Allen Patton and watched his August 2006 execution by lethal injection in Oklahoma.

Patton was convicted of a 1994 murder, and said he didn't remember it because of his drug abuse at the time, Taylor recalled. After his conviction, Patton led a prison prayer group and was "at peace in a way," Taylor said.

Arkansas is now preparing for its first execution by lethal injection after a failed U.S. Supreme Court challenge to the method.

"Society is not protected by the execution of people. We can protect the common good without executing prisoners," he said. "It ends up being a dehumanizing thing for everyone and it brings no real comfort to the family of the victim."

Taylor also said he would oppose abortion, saying oftentimes women can be frightened into undergoing the procedure as a result of domestic violence or other problems.

The bishop-elect also mentioned he would like to examine laws regarding domestic violence in the state, though he said he'd leave the lawmaking to those at the state Capitol.

"I do believe my Catholic faith has got some things to bring to the table that can maybe inform the discussion (and) bring things to the attention of legislators that maybe they may be overlooking as they consider how to go about addressing a problem or a situation," Taylor said. "The church has a role to be a voice for the voiceless, who are not being heard."

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