Catholic Diocese Fights Trump's Border Wall Near Sacred Jesus Statue!
Catholic Diocese Fights Trump's Border Wall Near Sacred Jesus Statue!
A New Mexico Catholic diocese is locked in a legal battle to stop Trump's border wall, claiming it would "desecrate" sacred land and a 29-foot Jesus statue. A fight for religious freedom?
A Catholic diocese in New Mexico is waging a legal battle against the Trump administration’s plan to construct a border wall, arguing that the project would desecrate a sacred site near a prominent 29-foot-tall statue of Jesus. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces is challenging the government’s attempt to seize 14 acres of church land through eminent domain for the wall.
Lawyers for the diocese filed court papers on Friday, vowing to fight the administration before "surrendering even a square inch of its sacred land." They emphasized that the law allows the Diocese to present its defenses before the government "possesses and irreparably desecrates the holy site at Mount Cristo Rey," urging the court not to "bless this affront to religious liberty."
The court filing strongly criticized President Donald Trump’s U.S.-Mexico border wall, calling it a "physical manifestation of this Government’s attitude toward migrants," and asserting that "nothing could be less Catholic." This statement highlights the moral and theological objections the diocese holds against the border barrier.
In response, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) countered that claims of desecration are "ludicrous," especially when examining a map of Mount Cristo Rey and the southern border. DHS maintains that "access to the shrine will not be affected, as all attendees enter from the U.S. side." They further argued that "the only individuals who could POSSIBLY be impacted by the border wall are illegal aliens attempting to illegally enter our country."
The Justice Department, representing DHS, also stated that seizing the land is "authorized by law" and "will not impact activity or use of the shrine" atop Mount Cristo Rey. The conflict sets religious freedom and sacred land against national security and immigration policy, raising significant legal and ethical questions in New Mexico.
