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Bishop José Mazuelos Pérez of the Canary Islands has urged Spain’s political leaders to stop “playing politics” with immigration ahead of Pope Leo XIV’s expected visit to the country. The bishop warned against ideological polarisation, criticised the handling of migrant policy and said the Pope would call for unity and “the most humane solutions possible” The Bishop of the Canary Islands has appealed for Spain’s political class to stop using immigration as a weapon of ideological warfare ahead of the forthcoming visit of Pope Leo XIV. In an interview with the Spanish outlet The Objective , given as preparations continue for the Pope’s visit to Spain, Bishop José Mazuelos Pérez insisted that the migration crisis affecting the Canary Islands could not be reduced to electoral calculations or partisan rhetoric. “Immigration cannot be used for political polarisation,” the bishop said. “It’s not a matter of polarising the issue and using it for an ideology to win votes, but rather of finding the most humane solutions possible.” The Canary Islands have become one of the principal entry points into Europe for migrants crossing from West Africa, with local authorities struggling to cope with growing numbers of arrivals, especially unaccompanied minors. At the same time, debate over immigration has intensified sharply within Spanish politics, where both Left and Right accuse one another of exploiting the issue for political advantage. Bishop Mazuelos criticised what he described as attempts by all sides to instrumentalise migration for electoral purposes. “Politicians have to stop playing politics with immigration and find a solution together,” the bishop said. “Enough is enough; it seems the common good has been lost.” Over recent years, bishops, Catholic charities and ecclesiastical organisations have repeatedly backed measures designed to regularise migrants already living in Spain, while pressing for greater humanitarian protections and expanded reception policies. That stance has generated criticism that the Spanish hierarchy has aligned itself too closely with the assumptions of progressive migration policy while failing to address concerns surrounding integration, crime, pressure on housing and public services, and the wider social consequences of large-scale irregular migration. Bishop Mazuelos acknowledged that the Church had supported the regularisation of migrants for more than a year. “The Church has been asking for it for over a year and a half,” he said, arguing that Spain depended heavily upon migrant labour, particularly in caring professions and among workers supporting the country’s ageing population. At the same time, however, he openly criticised the political handling of the issue by the government of Spanish President Pedro Sánchez, suggesting that recent moves towards regularisation had been driven less by humanitarian concerns than by domestic political calculations. Referring to the timing of the proposals, the bishop said: “It was more because of the elections in Aragon than the Pope’s visit, because it suited their purposes.” Bishop Mazuelos repeatedly invoked the need for a return to “the spirit of the Transition”, referring to the broad political consensus that accompanied Spain’s move from Francoist dictatorship to parliamentary democracy in the late 1970s. “A large majority of Spaniards miss that spirit of the Transition,” the bishop said, expressing hope that Pope Leo XIV’s visit to the Spanish parliament might encourage politicians to rediscover a sense of national unity. Pope Leo XIV is expected to visit Madrid, Barcelona and the Canary Islands during what will be his first visit to Spain as Pope and the first papal visit since Benedict XVI attended World Youth Day in 2011. The Canary Islands, now synonymous across Europe with the migration crisis in the Atlantic, make any papal appearance there impossible to separate entirely from politics. Bishop Mazuelos insisted that the visit should not be interpreted as a political intervention. “The Pope’s visit to the Canary Islands is not political; he’s not coming to scold anyone or tell anyone what to do,” he said. Instead, he argued, the Pope wished to highlight “charity” and the wider mission of evangelisation. Still, the bishop also made clear that Leo XIV would likely speak forcefully about the need for unity and human dignity in the face of political division. “Pope Leo XIV is going to make that call for unity,” he said. “Let’s not use immigration for votes.” Bishop Mazuelos also addressed growing concerns over the treatment of unaccompanied migrant minors arriving in the Canary Islands, many of whom face uncertain futures upon reaching adulthood. “When they turn 18, they’re sent out onto the street,” he said, warning that many subsequently become vulnerable to criminal exploitation, prostitution and homelessness. He praised the work of Caritas and Catholic organisations operating in the islands, arguing that Church agencies were frequently stepping in where the state had failed. “Ultimately, it’s Caritas that’s feeding them,” he said. “Helping them so often where the State falls short.” The bishop nevertheless rejected accusations that the Church supported uncontrolled or irregular migration. “The Church is not in favour of irregular immigration,” he said. “But rather the most humane immigration possible.”

Auxiliary Bishop Rob Mutsaerts of ’s-Hertogenbosch has been seriously injured in a car crash while returning home after hearing confessions. The conservative Dutch bishop reportedly suffered a dislocated hip, fractured pelvis and broken elbow in the accident on 10 May Auxiliary Bishop Rob Mutsaerts of ’s-Hertogenbosch has been seriously injured in a car crash while returning home after hearing confessions. Reports emerging from The Remnant said the 67-year-old bishop suffered a dislocated hip, a fractured pelvis and a broken elbow in the accident, which took place on 10 May. No further details about the collision have yet been released publicly. Bishop Mutsaerts has served as auxiliary bishop of the Dutch diocese since 2010 following his appointment by Pope Benedict XVI. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1993 by Bishop Johannes ter Schure after training at the Sint-Janscentrum seminary in Den Bosch, where he later also served as deputy headmaster. Before entering the priesthood, he studied law at Tilburg University. He subsequently worked in parishes including Millingen aan de Rijn and Heeze before being named titular bishop of Uccula and auxiliary bishop of ’s-Hertogenbosch. For much of the last decade Bishop Mutsaerts has become one of the best-known conservative bishops in Europe through his outspoken interventions on synodality, Church reform and secularisation in the West. In 2018 Bishop Mutsaerts withdrew from the Synod on Young People in Rome amid the clerical abuse crisis, saying the timing of the gathering was inappropriate. He later emerged as a strong critic of the Synod on the Amazon in 2019, warning that proposals discussed there had opened “a Pandora’s box”. The bishop became particularly critical of the Synodal Process initiated under Pope Francis. Writing about diocesan consultations, he said they risked giving “a megaphone to non-ecclesial views”. The bishop wrote: “Because of the statements of those who disagree with the teachings of the Catholic Church, which the bishops were supposed to document and forward to Rome, the result at the Synod would be a lottery of opinions; this was a recipe for disaster.” In another intervention he stated: “God is not involved in this accursed Synodal Process. The Holy Spirit has absolutely nothing to do with it.” During the Covid-19 pandemic Bishop Mutsaerts was also among the signatories of an appeal promoted by former Vatican nuncio, now excommunicated, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò entitled Veritas liberabit vos! , which criticised restrictions imposed during the coronavirus outbreak. The statement complained that, under the pretext of the pandemic, “the rights and fundamental freedoms of many citizens are being disproportionately and unjustifiably restricted”. It also warned against “foreign powers” exploiting the crisis and referred to “forces interested in creating panic among the population”. Bishop Mutsaerts again attracted international attention in 2025 when he joined Bishops Joseph Strickland, Athanasius Schneider and Marian Eleganti at a “Prayer of Reparation” held in Pittsburgh following an LGBTQ pilgrimage connected to the Holy Year in Rome. At the event the bishops denounced “fornication” and “sodomy” and condemned what they described as the legitimisation of sins against the sixth commandment. The gathering was criticised by progressive Church figures in Germany. Auxiliary Bishop Ludger Schepers of Essen described the prayer event as “shameful” and “a scandalous sign of ecclesiastical narrow-mindedness”. No indication has yet been given about how long Bishop Mutsaerts will remain away from public ministry while recovering from his injuries.

Britain’s newly appointed ambassador to the Holy See has voiced strong support for LGBT Pride activism during her time as British Consul General in San Francisco and has retained social media posts featuring the disgraced politician Peter Mandelson The appointment of Tarandip “Tammy” Kaur Sandhu as the next British ambassador to the Holy See has prompted scrutiny over the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s increasingly prominent promotion of LGBT causes through its diplomatic missions. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office announced on May 11 that Ms Sandhu would succeed Christopher Trott as His Majesty’s Ambassador to the Holy See later this summer. The Leicester-born diplomat, who studied at University College London before joining the Foreign Office in 2005, most recently served as British Consul General in San Francisco. Her career has combined commercial diplomacy with internal diversity work inside the Foreign Office. In Chennai she worked as deputy head of mission and head of international trade, while in 2020 she chaired the FCDO’s Race and Ethnicity Network during a period in which the department expanded its public focus on diversity and inclusion initiatives as well as navigating the unrest after the murder of George Floyd. In San Francisco, Ms Sandhu developed close ties with the city’s political and business establishment, regularly appearing at technology, cultural and civic events linked to Britain’s commercial presence in Silicon Valley and the wider Bay Area. She also became a visible public supporter of LGBT Pride events in the city, where British diplomatic involvement has steadily expanded in recent years. During her tenure in California, the British consulate became heavily involved in San Francisco Pride events and related LGBT campaigns, with the mission publishing repeated statements backing Pride activism and describing itself as a “proudly inclusive mission”. That record is now attracting attention following her appointment to the Holy See. AdVaticanum, which contacted the FCDO for comment after the appointment was announced, compiled a series of social media posts published during Sandhu’s tenure in California documenting the British consulate’s participation in San Francisco Pride celebrations and associated LGBT campaigns. One post published by the British consulate after the city’s 2025 Pride parade stated: “Consul General @TammySandhu was proud to join our amazing team marching in this year’s @sanfranciscopride Parade — a vibrant celebration of love, equality, and the power of community.” The post continued: “As a proudly inclusive mission, we’re committed to standing with the LGBTQ+ community in the Bay Area, the UK, and around the world.” In another message published during Pride month, Sandhu wrote: “Wrapped in rainbows and filled with love … what a joy to celebrate Pride in San Francisco once again!” “This city has been my home for five years, and I continue to be in awe of how it leads — with love, with courage, and with glitter.” The same post said: “I am so proud to represent a country that shows up for LGBT rights — at home and around the world. Because visibility matters. Safety matters. Love matters.” Referring to Britain’s longstanding involvement in San Francisco Pride, she added: “The UK was the first foreign government to march in San Francisco Pride — and we’ve never stopped dancing since.” Other posts highlighted by critics included Sandhu appearing alongside San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie, State Senator Scott Wiener and San Francisco Pride executive director Suzanne Ford during the installation of the city’s annual “Pink Triangle” display. A further statement issued by the consulate said Sandhu had addressed “leaders, dignitaries and allies” at San Francisco City Hall and spoken about “the UK’s deep commitment to LGBTQ+ rights and inclusion, at home and around the world”. The message added: “From the steps of City Hall, where history has so often been made, the Consul General shared the UK’s unwavering belief that everyone deserves to live freely, openly, and with pride.” Another Instagram collaboration post shared by a former San Francisco Pride president used the phrase “GOD SAVE THE K̶I̶N̶G̶ KWEEN” while thanking Sandhu for hosting a Christmas luncheon. Under the Civil Service Code, diplomats are required to uphold the principles of “integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality”, with impartiality defined as “acting solely according to the merits of the case and serving equally well governments of different political persuasions”. In practice, senior diplomats will inevitably engage with politicians across the spectrum, particularly in a state such as California where Democratic officeholders dominate public life. Yet the cumulative picture created by the public messaging surrounding Sandhu’s tenure in San Francisco has created an appearance of political and ideological alignment that sits uneasily with both the spirit of civil service neutrality and the sensitivities of the Vatican posting. While British ambassadors to the Holy See are not expected to be Catholic, the scale and tone of some interventions risk bringing unnecessary controversy to one of Britain’s most delicate diplomatic appointments. While a degree of political engagement is inevitable for any senior diplomat operating in California, particularly one whose role required regular contact with figures such as Governor Gavin Newsom and the state’s Democratic leadership, some of Ambassador-designate Sandhu’s public interventions have nevertheless raised eyebrows. Appearances alongside elected officials are broadly understandable. However, a lengthy tribute posted following the death of Senator Dianne Feinstein, one of America’s most prominent pro-abortion politicians, is more difficult to reconcile given the sensitivities of the Vatican posting. In the post, Sandhu described Feinstein as “a trailblazer who improved the lives of so many San Franciscans”, praised her for ensuring “young women grew up in a world that was fairer, more just”, and concluded by saying: “Senator Feinstein was a great friend of the UK and a political force on the international stage.” Sandhu also has Instagram posts featuring and alongside Peter Mandelson, the former British Ambassador to the United States who maintained a close friendship with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Mandelson reportedly received cash payments from Epstein and was accused of attempting to influence British government policy at Epstein’s request. He is currently under investigation over allegations that he shared confidential UK government information with Epstein while serving as Business Secretary between 2009 and 2010. Sandhu’s association with Mandelson during her time as British Consul General in San Francisco, while he was serving as ambassador in Washington, is unsurprising. However, the decision to retain multiple photographs of the disgraced politician on her public social media accounts is more difficult to reconcile with her new diplomatic posting. The FCDO did not immediately comment on the social media posts highlighted following the announcement. Photo: Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office / OGL v3.0

Pope Leo XIV has appointed Bishop Steven Joseph Lopes, Ordinary of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter in North America, as temporary head of Australia’s Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of the Southern Cross following the appointment of Archbishop Anthony Randazzo to the Dicastery for Legislative Texts Pope Leo XIV has appointed Bishop Steven Joseph Lopes, Ordinary of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter, to temporarily run the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of the Southern Cross in Australia. On May 11, the Holy See moved to conclude the mandate of Archbishop Anthony Randazzo as Apostolic Administrator ad nutum Sanctae Sedis of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of the Southern Cross, following his appointment as Prefect of the Dicastery for Legislative Texts. In the same communication, Pope Leo XIV appointed Bishop Steven Joseph Lopes as Apostolic Administrator sede vacante et ad nutum Sanctae Sedis of the Australian ordinariate, adding another layer of responsibility to a prelate already central to the governance of the worldwide Anglican ordinariate structures. Bishop Lopes, who continues as Ordinary of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter in the United States and Canada, thus assumes temporary oversight of the Australian jurisdiction during its vacancy. The announcement comes amid a period of ongoing administrative consolidation within the Curia. Archbishop Randazzo’s departure from the Australian ordinariate role follows his elevation to the Dicastery for Legislative Texts, a body responsible for interpreting and safeguarding the Church’s canonical order. His earlier appointment to the Australian ordinariate in 2023 had itself been framed as a stabilising measure during a transitional phase in its governance. In February 2023, Pope Francis appointed Archbishop Randazzo president of the Federation of Catholic Bishops’ Conferences of Oceania, extending his influence across the wider Pacific region. Bishop Lopes, consecrated in 2016 as the first bishop of any ordinariate, has long been regarded as a central figure in the post-Anglican provision. His consecration in Houston was led by Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller, with Cardinal William Levada and Cardinal Donald Wuerl serving as co-consecrators, marking the formal establishment of episcopal leadership within the ordinariate system. Since then, he has overseen the development of liturgical and pastoral structures for former Anglicans in full communion with Rome across North America. His broader responsibilities have expanded steadily in recent years and in 2021, he was elected chairman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Divine Worship. . The ordinariate structure itself, established under Pope Benedict XVI’s apostolic constitution Anglicanorum coetibus , was designed to provide a stable canonical home for groups of former Anglicans entering full communion with the Catholic Church while retaining elements of their liturgical and spiritual patrimony. Each ordinariate functions similarly to a diocese, though without strict territorial boundaries, and is governed by an ordinary appointed by the Pope. In canonical terms, an apostolic administrator sede vacante assumes full governing authority when a see is vacant, though with certain limitations typical of temporary governance. As outlined in canon law, such administrators are restricted from making major structural decisions, particularly those involving the alienation of property or long-term commitments, unless explicitly authorised by the Holy See.

Vincent van Gogh is rarely remembered as a man of religion. However, Oscar Yuill finds that there is more than a touch of faith in the Dutch master’s life and work Sunflowers on fridge magnets, starry skies on tote bags, nighttime cafés on t-shirts: the man who sold just one painting during his lifetime ( The Red Vineyard ) is now a commercial phenomenon and arguably the most recognised and ubiquitous artist in the history of Western painting. I mean, of course, Vincent van Gogh. Biographically speaking, however, most people do not know much about him except that he cut off his ear and, shortly thereafter, shot himself. We feel little need to pry any further; it is enough that Gogh sates our appetite for the suffering artiste, an appetite that has been rumbling away since Goethe’s Sorrows of Young Werther and the Sturm und Drang of Beethoven’s late symphonies and string quartets. Indeed, if Vincent’s mind could be “heard”, especially during his year-long stay at the Saint-Paul de Mausole psychiatric hospital, it would sound, perhaps, like Beethoven’s Grosse Fugue , which was also slated by contemporary critics. But this Vincent of the popular imagination is a half-truth, and an unfair one. He was not driven by absinthe, but by faith. There are signs this is changing, but faith, especially Christian faith, has long been anathema to the mainstream artistic and cinematic industries. I suspect many galleries would sooner admit to asbestos in the ceiling than write a museum card that did not describe the West’s historical faith as though it were an Ecuadorian shrunken head. I have been to many van Gogh exhibitions. They usually consist of luscious reproductions, sometimes originals, of only the secular favourites: Sunflowers , Starry Night , Wheatfield with Crows , etc. One gallery in London promised a “retina-battering, virtual-reality post-Impressionist extravaganza”. None of them covered the central moral and aesthetic wellsprings of the artist’s heart. None of them, that is, featured Pietà (which can be found in “Room 2” of the Vatican Museum), The Raising of Lazarus , or Parable of the Sower . Vincent’s early letters read like sermons by the Church Fathers. “Hold on to what you have,” he wrote to his brother, the aptly named Theo. “I long so fervently for the goal you know of. But how can I attain it? … It takes so much hard work to become a Christian labourer and a preacher of the Gospel and a sower of the Word.” He spoke from experience. Long before he took up the brush, Gogh slept in barns, subsisting on bread, water and wine, and preached the Good News to coal miners in the Belgian Borinage. “I want to be bound to Christ with unbreakable bonds,” he wrote elsewhere, “to be sorrowful yet always rejoicing. To live in and for Christ, to be one of the poor in His Kingdom, steeped in the leaven, filled with his spirit, impelled by His love, reposing in the Father.” These are not the words of an agnostic; they are the words of a fanatic. But this excess de zèle soon brought him to the attention of the Evangelisation Council of the Dutch Reformed Church, which promptly expelled him from its hierarchy (such as it was). The whole affair left him deeply wounded. Nor was it the last time he would be ostracised and scapegoated. Gone sour on organised religion, his letters hereafter shift tonally from the supernatural to the natural. If the contemporary secular world finds it so easy to overlook his faith, it is because he himself chose to step back from it. Not, however, inwardly. His faith was too deep simply to vanish along with the religious subject matter of his youth. Rather, it found a gentler, subtler expression in even his most famous paintings. Consider Café Terrace at Night . I have myself been to this café, now rather a grotty tourist trap, in Arles. Gogh’s rendering appears to be little more than a post-Impressionist gloss on an otherwise perfectly naturalistic scene. But upon closer inspection, the painting is nearly medieval in its rich symbolism. Twelve people are seated around an enigmatic thirteenth figure (the waiter), and to the left, by the door, stands a shadowy figure all in black. It has been suggested that the waiter is Christ, the twelve His disciples, and the shadow Judas. The window behind the waiter even forms a cross. It is difficult to unsee this interpretation. Another example: I have always wondered whether Wheatfield with Crows , one of his last paintings, at once so dark and so hopeful, is not in fact Golgotha. The wheat is swept up in a strong wind as though something of incalculable magnitude has just occurred: “And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom; and the earth shook, and the rocks were split” (Matt. 27:51). The three paths suggest a cross or the Trinity; and the way the middle path peters out into a distant point under the light of the moon (or cloud?) suggests an eschatological peace. Wishful thinking or no, it is reasonable to believe that the fiery missionary of Borinage was at work to the end. Faith informs a person in more ways than one, and certainly in more ways than the obvious. “Try,” says Gogh, “to grasp the essence of what the great artists, the serious masters, say in their masterpieces, and you will again find God in them. One man has written or said it in a book, another in a painting.” He could never have known that he would rank among those masters; he had no reason to suppose the future would resurrect him, much less celebrate him. But then, as he said: “The nature of every true son does indeed bear some resemblance to that of the son who was dead and came back to life.” Though deeply flawed, alcoholic, self-harming, capricious, there was, I am convinced, something of the saint in that red-headed Dutchman. He was like a child, indeed was frequently bullied by the children of whichever village he happened to be staying in, and thus closer to God. He saw things no one else saw, and “inscaped” them (to use Manley Hopkins’s terminology) in ways no one else could. Van Gogh will never be canonised. But despite being such a messy, pipe-smoking, absinthe-sodden wastrel, he can, in the manner of a saint, help us get a little closer to that mysterious beauty at the heart of human suffering.

Pope Leo XIV has appointed Bishop-Designate Evelio Menjivar-Ayala to lead the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston in West Virginia. The Salvadoran-born bishop, who entered the United States illegally as a teenager after fleeing civil war, has become one of the most prominent episcopal voices on immigration in America Bishop-Designate Evelio Menjivar-Ayala has drawn fresh attention to the increasingly vocal role being played by senior Catholic clergy in the United States over immigration policy. The Salvadoran-born bishop-designate of Wheeling-Charleston, who arrived in the United States illegally as a teenager after fleeing civil war in El Salvador, said in an interview with The Guardian following his appointment by Pope Leo XIV that he would continue defending migrants and speaking publicly about immigration despite the political hostility towards undocumented immigrants in America. Speaking to The Guardian shortly after the announcement of his appointment, Bishop Menjivar-Ayala said: “I will keep talking about people’s reality, defending immigrants and fighting for fair treatment for them.” Bishop Menjivar-Ayala explained the Church’s involvement in the immigration debate in explicitly moral and religious terms. “We are not approaching this from a partisan political standpoint, but from a moral one,” the bishop said. “Morality is not something that pertains solely to one’s private life, but also to how I treat others, how I conduct my public life, how I perform my work, and how I engage with society.” Bishop Menjivar-Ayala added that the Church’s teaching on immigration was rooted directly in scripture, saying that “the prophets denounce the mistreatment of the poor, foreigners, widows, and orphans”, before referring to Christ’s identification with the vulnerable in the Gospel of St Matthew. The bishop-designate has become one of the more prominent episcopal voices criticising the administration’s deportation agenda. Earlier this year he condemned immigration raids and what he described as “highly visible operations of questionable legality that go far beyond mere immigration enforcement”. Born in El Salvador during the country’s brutal civil war, the bishop-designate has recalled witnessing violence near the Sumpul River massacre in Chalatenango while still a child. His family later fled the region before he eventually attempted to migrate to the United States to join relatives already living there. According to his interview, he was turned back during earlier attempts before finally crossing the border near San Ysidro hidden in the boot of a smuggler’s car. Reflecting on the experience, the bishop said: “I don’t recommend it. You risk your own life.” After arriving in California, he worked a series of manual and low-paid jobs while studying English and continuing his education. He later moved to Maryland, where he began working within the Church before entering seminary formation. Speaking more broadly about civic participation and political life, the bishop-designate encouraged Catholics not to withdraw from public engagement despite growing social divisions in the United States. “We can all do something,” Bishop Menjivar-Ayala said. “We need to use the opportunities we have to take action.” The bishop added that people should “not be afraid” to defend their rights, show solidarity and participate in public life, insisting that “participation in political and social life is important for change to happen”. Ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Washington in 2004, he became an American citizen two years later. In 2022, Pope Francis appointed him an auxiliary bishop in Washington. Speaking about his own experiences as an immigrant, Bishop Menjivar-Ayala said: “I’ve lived through that story. I am part of the history of migration in the United States, and at the same time, it’s very hopeful to know that I’m also part of the story of overcoming adversity.” Bishop Menjivar-Ayala succeeds Bishop Mark Brennan, who has led the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston through a prolonged period of recovery after the scandal surrounding former Bishop Michael Bransfield. Bishop Bransfield was accused of financial and sexual misconduct and was later ordered to repay substantial sums to the diocese following a Vatican investigation. The appointment of Bishop Evelio Menjivar-Ayala is an eyebrow-raising decision by Pope Leo XIV because auxiliary bishops in Washington have traditionally emerged from one of the most politically engaged and ideologically progressive episcopal environments in the United States. Bishop Menjivar-Ayala himself became known nationally for his outspoken criticism of immigration enforcement operations and his defence of undocumented migrants while serving as an auxiliary bishop in the capital. His transfer to the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston is a sharp contrast, as West Virginia remains one of the whitest states in America, with one of the country’s lowest percentages of foreign-born residents and a comparatively small Hispanic Catholic population. The decision to appoint a Salvadoran-born bishop so publicly associated with immigration advocacy has therefore inevitably led to questions about the message Rome intends to send through the appointment. Bishop Menjivar-Ayala himself appeared to acknowledge the symbolic dimension of the move when he said: “The fact that they are sending me to a state where there aren’t many immigrants means a lot because it shows that immigrants have the ability to adapt, to embrace a new way of life, to adjust to a new environment.”