Construction of Texas Border Wall Stalls Over Fights With Catholic Diocese
At the more than 100-year-old Sacred Heart Children’s Home, the nuns in charge have refused to give their consent. “The nuns are holding back for the time being,” due in part to concerns over river access and irrigation, said their spokesman, Mercurio Martinez.
Other Catholic institutions have said a wall conflicts with their faith, citing Pope Francis, who in a May television interview criticized “this new culture of defending territories by building walls.” The Diocese of Brownsville has refused federal efforts to survey five parcels of land it owns, including a historic chapel, an oratory with a library and a priest’s home, and three pieces of vacant land that might someday hold churches. It recently received notice of two more properties the government wants to access.
“I don’t want to use the church property to say that no matter how dire your life is, you cannot be received here,” said...
