Bishop Peña - Keynote Speaker

BISHOP OF BROWNSVILLE WILL BE KEYNOTE SPEAKER AT RALLY AGAINST BORDER WALL

Bishop Raymundo J. Peña of the Diocese of Brownsville will be the keynote speaker at the Brownsville NO BORDER WALL PACHANGA IN THE PARK on Saturday, September 29 at 5:00 pm at Dean Porter Park in Brownsville, Texas.

Bishop Peña, whose diocese operates 107 parishes and missions for the almost 800,000 Catholics who live in the Rio Grande Valley, has been outspoken against the construction of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. The Bishop’s opposition echoes the sentiment of the Vatican, where a top official has called the U.S. plan to build a border wall “inhuman.”

In this border region where many residents have ties to Mexico and where the presence of the Catholic Church predates the founding of the United States, many Catholics agree. As Mark Peña, local coordinator for Holy Spirit Peace and Justice/Pax Christi USA, a Catholic peace and justice organization, explains, “Christ calls each of us to love our neighbors as ourselves. The proposed border wall is hostile to this great call. Latin America and its peoples are our neighbors in the truest sense.”

The Brownsville NO BORDER WALL PACHANGA IN THE PARK will highlight the culture and community spirit of Brownsville and the Texas-Mexico border. Participants hope to show the nation just what is at risk if a wall is built through the city of Brownsville and along the rest of the border, including their close relationship with their Mexican neighbors.

In addition to the Bishop Peña, other community leaders, including state representatives Eddie Lucio III and Juan Escobar, will voice the concerns of their constituents, and local experts will discuss the negative impact a wall could have on our communities, historical landmarks, farms, and natural areas. The event will also feature a variety of food booths, live South Texas music, and children’s activities.

EVERYONE IS INVITED TO ATTEND.

Late entry 9/22/07:
Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev compared the United States' proposed 700-mile wall on the U.S.-Mexico border to the Berlin Wall during a Tuesday visit to Midland, Texas.

"You remember President Reagan standing in Berlin and saying, 'Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall’, said the 1990 Nobel Peace Prize winner. "Now the United States seems to be building almost the Wall of China between itself and this other nation with which it has been associated for many decades and has had cooperation and interaction with."
-Mikhail Gorbachev