Bishop adjusts to Utah, speaks out on immigration

On Thursday — the day before he was scheduled to offer a prayer in

Utah's Senate chamber — Bishop John C. Wester mused for a moment about

what he might include in his plea to God for state legislators.

He joked about using the occasion as a platform to urge compassion on

the immigration bill, which has been one of this year's most volatile

topics at the Capitol. While he chuckled about the prospects, the issue

is clearly top-of-mind for a man who is now at the forefront of

discussion about immigration policy in America. In November, he was

named chairman of the Committee on Migration of the U.S. Conference of

Catholic Bishops.

While it was not a post he anticipated a year ago — when he was

preparing to move to Salt Lake City from San Francisco to serve as

Utah's ninth Catholic bishop — he didn't shrink from the appointment.

Some 70 percent of Utah Catholics are Spanish-speaking, and the percentages nationally are rising as well.

"That doesn't mean we open the doors (of the church) because the Anglos are being gracious," he said. "That's who we are."

In the past three months, he's talked with both federal and state

lawmakers about the necessity of immigration reform, the particulars of

how Christ would treat people and the intricacies of pending

legislation that will have a dramatic impact on millions of homes and

businesses. He's given two public lectures on the topic and is

scheduled to participate in a roundtable discussion next week at the

University of Utah.