Archbishop Gomez starts to stand up for L.A. right when the city needs him
Stand up for Los Angeles, because L.A. needs you.
The head of the largest Catholic diocese in the United States has largely stood athwart the liberal city he's supposed to minister since he assumed his seat in 2011 but especially since the COVID-19 pandemic. He has railed against 'woke' culture and refused to meet with progressive Catholic groups. When the Dodgers in 2023 honored the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a drag troupe that wears nun's habits while raising funds for the marginalized, he led a special Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels that amounted to a public exorcism.
Most perplexingly, the Mexico-born archbishop stayed largely quiet as the Herod that's Donald Trump promised to clamp down on legal immigration and deport people without legal status during his 2024 presidential run. As head of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops at the end of last decade, Gomez wrote and spoke movingly about the need to treat all immigrants with dignity and fix this country's broken system once and for all. But his gradual turn to the right as archbishop has gone so far that the National Catholic Reporter, where I'm an occasional contributor, labeled him a 'failed culture warrior' when they anointed him their Newsmaker for that year.
Gomez's devolution was especially dispiriting because L.A. Catholic leaders have taught their American peers how to embrace Latino immigrants ever since Archbishop John Cantwell helped refugees from Mexico's Cristero War resettle in the city in the 1920s. Clerical legends like Luis Olivares and Richard Estrada transformed La Placita Church near Olvera Street into a sanctuary for Central American immigrants during the 1980s and 1990s in the face of threats from the feds. Gomez's predecessor, Cardinal Roger Mahony, long drew national attention for attacking anti-immigrant legislation during his sermons and marching alongside immigrant rights protesters, a cross to bear that Gomez never warmed up to.
So when L.A. began to push back against Donald Trump's immigration raids earlier this month only to see an onerous federal crackdown, I expected Gomez to do little even as L.A.-area priests bore witness to what was happening.
Father Gregory Boyle of Homeboy Industries appeared in a viral video proclaiming the righteous, if well-worn, message that no human being is illegal, but also that 'we stand with anybody who's demonized or left out, or excluded, or seen as disposable … it's kinda how we roll here.' His fellow Jesuit, Dolores Mission pastor Brendan Busse, was there with activists during a June 9 migra raid at a factory in the Garment District that saw SEIU California president David Huerta arrested for civil disobedience.
I especially admired Father Peter O'Reilly, who was a priest in the L.A. Archdiocese for 44 years before retiring in 2005. The 90-year-old cleric was at Gloria Molina Grand Park on June 8, the day protesters torched Waymo cars, just blocks away from the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. O'Reilly told a television station in his native Ireland afterward that it was important for him be there to let immigrants know 'we were with them and for them.'
Gomez? The archbishop put out a weak-salsa statement around that time about how he was 'troubled' by the raids. His Instagram account urged people a few days later to light a candle and pray for peace. That same day, Diocese of Orange Bishop Kevin Vann and his auxiliary bishops posted a letter condemning the raids, which they maintained 'invoke our worst instincts' and 'spread crippling fear and anxieties upon the hard-working, everyday faithful among us.'
You know things are upside-down in this world when O.C. is more down for immigrant rights than L.A.
I wanted to blast Gomez last week but held back, praying that he might change for the better. So I'm happy to report he's starting to.
On June 10, the same day he posted his Instagram call for prayer, the archbishop also attended an evening interfaith vigil along with Boyle, Busse and other faith leaders to tell a crowd of over 1,000 people, 'Immigration is about more than politics — it is about us, the kind of people we want to be.' Gomez asked all parishes in the L.A. Archdiocese the following day to hold special Masses with L.A.'s current immigration troubles in mind. He led the lunchtime one in the cathedral, telling parishioners during his homily, 'We want to go out and console our neighbors and strengthen their hearts and encourage them to keep the faith.'
Gomez saved his most stinging remarks for this Tuesday in his regular column for Angelus News, the archdiocese's publication. While not able to resist a shot at the Biden administration, the soft-spoken prelate nevertheless said of Trump's raids: 'This is not policy, it is punishment, and it can only result in cruel and arbitrary outcomes.' Accompanying his thoughts was a photo of a young woman holding a sign that read, 'Jesus was an Immigrant' in front of California Highway Patrol officers in riot gear.
'For him to show up was meaningful,' Busse said. Since Trump's inauguration, Dolores Mission has hosted training for the rapid response networks that have alerted people about immigration raids. 'But I hope there's more. The diocese has a huge capacity for organizing, and I hope that his leadership can move people in a large way.'
Busse said the first instinct of too many religious leaders is 'to step back into a place of safety' when controversy emerges. 'But there's also an invitation to be brave and courageous. What we need to do is step into the situation to bring the peace that we're praying for.'
Joseph Tómas McKellar is executive director of PICO California, a faith-based community organizing network that co-sponsored the interfaith vigil last week where Gomez spoke. The nonprofit used to teach citizenship and English classes in the L.A. Archdiocese and McKellar remembered Gomez attending a gathering of social justice groups in Modesto in 2017 as an active participant 'in these small group conversations.'
The PICO California head said Gomez's recent reemergence from his years in the political wilderness 'was deeply encouraging. … Our bishops and the leaders of our denominations have a special responsibility to exercise prophetic leadership. The prophets are the ones who denounce what is broken in this world, but also announce a different vision. I do see him more embracing more that call and that challenge to reflect.'
An archdiocese spokesperson said Gomez was unavailable for comment because he was at a retreat for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Earlier this week , the group released a reflection declaring, 'No one can turn a deaf ear to the palpable cries of anxiety and fear heard in communities throughout the country in the wake of a surge in immigration enforcement activities.'
I have no expectations that Archbishop Gomez's politics will ever fully reflect L.A.'s progressive soul. He remains the only American bishop affiliated with the orthodox Opus Dei movement and sits on the ecclesiastical advisory board for the Napa Institute, an organization of rich Catholics that has labored mightily over the past decade to tilt the church rightward. Its co-founder, Orange County-based multimillionaire developer Tim Busch, wrote earlier this year with no irony that Trump's administration 'is the most Christian I've ever seen' and told The Times in 2023 that Gomez 'is one of my closest advisors.'
But I'm glad Gomez is moving in the right direction, right when the city needs him the most. I continue to pray his voice gets bolder and stronger and that the region's millions of Catholics — and all Angelenos, for that matter — follow the archbishop's call to action to help immigrants while pushing him to do more.
I hope Gomez keeps in his heart what Busse told me near the end of our chat: 'If the faith community doesn't stand up when there's a moral issue to stand up for, then I don't know what happens.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump gets tariffs; Americans get price hikes
By David Gaffen and Marleen Kaesebier (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump is getting his tariffs. Companies are making it clear how they intend to deal with it - passing them on to American consumers. Throughout the spring, big retailers and consumer product makers warned that levies on imported goods would squeeze their operations, forcing them to choose between lower earnings and passing on higher costs to customers. In the case of Procter & Gamble and others, it is both of those things. On Tuesday, the packaging giant, which makes household basics spanning from Bounty paper towel to Tide detergent, issued a sour outlook for 2025 and sent a message to big retailers like Walmart that it would have to raise prices on some U.S. goods from next week. This challenge facing companies in coming quarters will likely feed through to everyday consumers. P&G said it would raise prices on about a quarter of its products in the U.S. to help offset the cost of new tariffs. Price hikes are in the mid-single digits across categories, a spokesperson for the company said. While U.S. stock indexes have soared to record highs this year, built on massive investment in technology shares, many consumer bellwethers have struggled. Since Trump's April 2 "Liberation Day" tariff announcements, P&G shares have declined 19%; Nestle is down 20%; Kimberly-Clark has lost 11%, and PepsiCo is off nearly 7%, while the benchmark S&P 500 stock index has gained more than 13%. Consumer goods, food and drink companies have struggled with lackluster sales since the pandemic, as shoppers have balked at increasingly expensive name-brand packaged food. Nestle said last week that consumers in North America remained wary of paying more at the cash register. More price hikes will deepen investor worries about how big brands are navigating the combined challenge of thrifty consumers and hefty costs created by Trump's trade war. "You're going to see companies like Walmart, Amazon, and Best Buy forced to pass price increases to consumers," said Bill George, former chairman and CEO of Medtronic and executive education fellow at Harvard Business School. "Main Street has yet to see the fallout from increased tariffs - and they're going to go higher." Between July 16 and 25, companies in the Reuters global tariff tracker said they expected to lose a combined $7.1 billion to $8.3 billion for the full year. GM, Ford and other carmakers have absorbed the cost of tariffs - totaling billions of dollars - so far. Many companies shipped more goods and raw materials into the U.S. before tariffs hit. Economists and analysts reckon that hoarding has helped some delay hiking prices until later in the year and explains why tariffs have not yet shown up in U.S. inflation data. Andrew Wilson, International Chamber of Commerce deputy secretary general, estimates inflation will be felt once companies have run down inventory, but that might not be until the fourth quarter or first quarter of next year. Others like Ray Ban-maker EssilorLuxottica have already hiked prices. Swiss watch and jewelry maker Swatch increased prices by about 5% after Trump announced tariffs in April with "zero impact" on sales, CEO Nick Hayek told Reuters recently. High-end brands like Tissot watches are less price sensitive to increases. Customers wanting to splash out on an expensive watch might also buy abroad when travelling where taxes are lower, he said. "You cannot do this with cars. You cannot do this with machines. But you can do this with watches. So it's not so problematic for us," he said. Sign in to access your portfolio
New York Times
3 minutes ago
- New York Times
How the E.U. Wooed Trump With Flashy but Flimsy Numbers
When Donald Trump unveiled his trade deal with the European Union on Sunday night, he fixated on its size. And when the White House later released a fact sheet on the agreement, it trumpeted pledges by the Europeans for big investments in the United States. 'The E.U. will purchase $750 billion in U.S. energy and make new investments of $600 billion in the United States, all by 2028,' the document declared. But when the European Union released its own fact sheet on Tuesday, its description of that pledge was more muted — and far more noncommittal on spending outside of energy. 'E.U. companies have expressed interest in investing at least $600 billion' in 'various sectors in the U.S.,' the document explained. There's a reason for the equivocation: The European commitments are more like vague estimates than specific promises. The spending would come from private companies across the 27-nation bloc and would not be directed or enforced by European Union officials. The European Commission, the European Union's executive branch that is responsible for negotiating trade, can play a role in convening, organizing and encouraging big spending, but it cannot compel such outlays. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Fast Company
4 minutes ago
- Fast Company
EPA seeks to repeal ‘holy grail' finding for climate regulation
IMPACT The 'endangerment finding' is the legal underpinning of a host of climate regulations under the Clean Air Act for motor vehicles, power plants, and more pollution sources. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin attends a Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission Event in the East Room of the White House, Thursday, May 22, 2025, in Washington. [Photo: AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File] BY Associated Press Listen to this Article More info 0:00 / 0:00 President Donald Trump 's administration on Tuesday proposed revoking a scientific finding that has long been the central basis for U.S. action to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and fight climate change. The proposed Environmental Protection Agency rule would rescind a 2009 declaration that determined that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases endanger public health and welfare. The 'endangerment finding' is the legal underpinning of a host of climate regulations under the Clean Air Act for motor vehicles, power plants and other pollution sources that are heating the planet. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced the proposed rule change on a podcast ahead of an official announcement set for Tuesday in Indiana. Subscribe to the Daily Company's trending stories delivered to you every day Privacy Policy | Fast Company Newsletters Repealing the endangerment finding 'will be the largest deregulatory action in the history of America,' Zeldin said on the Ruthless podcast. 'There are people who, in the name of climate change, are willing to bankrupt the country,' Zeldin said. 'They created this endangerment finding and then they are able to put all these regulations on vehicles, on airplanes, on stationary sources, to basically regulate out of existence, in many cases, a lot of segments of our economy. And it cost Americans a lot of money.' The EPA proposal must go though a lengthy review process, including public comment, before it is finalized, likely next year. Environmental groups are likely to challenge the rule change in court. Zeldin called for a rewrite of the endangerment finding in March as part of a series of environmental rollbacks announced at the same time in what he said was 'the greatest day of deregulation in American history.' A total of 31 key environmental rules on topics from clean air to clean water and climate change would be rolled back or repealed under Zeldin's plan. He singled out the endangerment finding as 'the Holy Grail of the climate change religion' and said he was thrilled to end it 'as the EPA does its part to usher in the Golden Age of American success.' Tailpipe emission limits also targeted The EPA also is expected to call for rescinding limits on tailpipe emissions that were designed to encourage automakers to build and sell more electric vehicles. The transportation sector is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. Environmental groups said Zeldin's action denies reality as weather disasters exacerbated by climate change continue in the U.S. and around the world. 'As Americans reel from deadly floods and heat waves, the Trump administration is trying to argue that the emissions turbocharging these disasters are not a threat,' said Christy Goldfuss, executive director of the Natural Resources Defense Council. 'It boggles the mind and endangers the nation's safety and welfare.' Under Zeldin and Trump, 'the EPA wants to shirk its responsibility to protect us from climate pollution, but science and the law say otherwise,' she added. 'If EPA finalizes this illegal and cynical approach, we will see them in court.' advertisement Three former EPA leaders have also criticized Zeldin, saying his March announcement targeting the endangerment finding and other rules imperiled the lives of millions of Americans and abandoned the agency's dual mission to protect the environment and human health. 'If there's an endangerment finding to be found anywhere, it should be found on this administration because what they're doing is so contrary to what the Environmental Protection Agency is about,' Christine Todd Whitman, who led EPA under Republican President George W. Bush, said after Zeldin's plan was made public. The EPA proposal follows an executive order from Trump that directed the agency to submit a report 'on the legality and continuing applicability' of the endangerment finding. Conservatives and some congressional Republicans hailed the initial plan, calling it a way to undo economically damaging rules to regulate greenhouse gases. But environmental groups, legal experts and Democrats said any attempt to repeal or roll back the endangerment finding would be an uphill task with slim chance of success. The finding came two years after a 2007 Supreme Court ruling holding that the EPA has authority to regulate greenhouse gases as air pollutants under the Clean Air Act. Passing court muster could be an issue David Doniger, a climate expert at the NRDC, accused Trump's Republican administration of using potential repeal of the endangerment finding as a 'kill shot'' that would allow him to make all climate regulations invalid. If finalized, repeal of the endangerment finding would erase current limits on greenhouse gas pollution from cars, factories, power plants and other sources and could prevent future administrations from proposing rules to tackle climate change. 'The Endangerment Finding is the legal foundation that underpins vital protections for millions of people from the severe threats of climate change, and the Clean Car and Truck Standards are among the most important and effective protections to address the largest U.S. source of climate-causing pollution,' said Peter Zalzal, associate vice president of the Environmental Defense Fund. 'Attacking these safeguards is manifestly inconsistent with EPA's responsibility to protect Americans' health and well-being,' he said. 'It is callous, dangerous and a breach of our government's responsibility to protect the American people from this devastating pollution.' Conrad Schneider, a senior director at the Clean Air Task Force, said the Trump administration 'is using pollution regulations as a scapegoat in its flawed approach to energy affordability' and reliability. He and other advocates 'are dismayed that an administration that claims it cares about cleaner, healthier and safer air is seeking to dismantle the very protections that are required for those conditions,' Schneider said. —Matthew Daly, Associated Press The early-rate deadline for Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies Awards is Friday, September 5, at 11:59 p.m. PT. Apply today. Explore Topics Climate change Donald Trump EPA global warming greenhouse gas emissions pollution
