NEW YORK – In some of his first remarks as archbishop-elect of Detroit, Michigan, Edward Weisenburger warned against the Trump administration’s plan to dismantle USAID, and highlighted the responsibility the United States has to care for those suffering around the world.

“In our culture, when we don’t have to see that person, see that process, we can kind of close our minds to it, but I don’t think a Christian can do that,” Weisenburger said in an introductory news conference, which Crux participated in via livestream.

“I think we have to keep it in our minds, and I would say that the amount of help that we as the wealthiest nation in the world, the most blessed nation, that amount of assistance we’ve been providing, typically around the world, to the world’s very poorest, is a part of who we are, it’s in our DNA as American people, and I hope that we never stray from that,” he said.

On Feb. 11, Pope Francis appointed Weisenburger, bishop of the Diocese Tucson, Arizona, to replace Archbishop Allen Vigneron as the archbishop of the Archdiocese of Detroit as was publicized by Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States.

Pope Francis made the appointment of Weisenburger – a staunch immigration advocate, and leader of a southern border diocese – to one of the nation’s more notable, and larger, archdioceses on the same day that he sent a scathing letter to the U.S. bishops on President Donald Trump’s immigration priorities.

At the news conference, Weisenburger gave his longest response when asked about immigration. He noted that when someone encounters an immigrant they learn that many of them have been through incredible suffering and are just desperate to create a better life for themselves and their children.

Weisenburger also acknowledged that the levels of immigration the nation has experienced in recent years is not sustainable, while noting that the fix “is not simply to build a taller wall.”

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“I would say that the levels of immigration that we’ve been witnessing are not sustainable. I agree with that, but … the system is broken, and it’s profoundly broken, but the current fix is not simply to build a taller wall or a firmer wall,” Weisenburger said. “We were finding, I believe, I probably shouldn’t be saying this publicly, but I believe it was over 1,000 bodies, roughly per year in the desert of people that didn’t make it. They’re struggling, and we have to be able to see Christ in those people.”

Weisenburger, 64, was ordained as a bishop in 2012 at the appointment of Pope Benedict XVI. He led the Diocese of Salina, Kansas, from 2012 to 2017. Pope Francis then appointed Weisenburger bishop of the Diocese of Tucson in 2017, where he has been up until his new appointment to Detroit.

Especially in the Diocese of Tucson, Weisenburger has been an outspoken advocate for the rights of immigrants and refugees who come to the United States. About a week after Trump took office, he joined the chorus of U.S. bishops who formally weighed in on the topic.

“Calling to mind that a host of children were separated from their families during immigration activities of previous years, and praying that such a violation of human rights and dignity never happens again, I join with other churches, faith groups, and civic organizations who are reminding immigrants and refugees of their rights in federal law as well as Arizona state saw,” Weisenburger said in a Jan. 28 letter.

“While we support the lawful arrest and detention of those who have perpetrated criminal activity, we do not believe the government should pursue criminal cases merely based on someone’s undocumented status,” he said. “We believe all refugees, exiles, and immigrants should be treated with compassion.”

Weisenburger’s message is along the same lines of Pope Francis’ Feb. 11 letter to the U.S. bishops, where he disagreed with the notion of associating someone’s illegal immigration status with criminality.

“The act of deporting people who in many cases have left their own land for reasons of extreme poverty, insecurity, exploitation, persecution, or serious deterioration of the environment damages the dignity of many men and women, and of entire families, and places them in a state of particular vulnerability and defenselessness,” Pope Francis said, referring to Trump’s mass deportation plans.

“All the Christian faithful and people of goodwill are called upon to consider the legitimacy of norms and public policies in the light of the dignity of the person and his or her fundamental rights, not vice versa,” the pontiff continued.

At his introductory news conference, Weisenburger also thanked the Hispanic community in Tucson.

“While everyone there has been great, the Hispanic community especially has lifted me up in wonderful ways. … What I’ve always appreciated in the Hispanic community is what we sometimes refer to as the ludic dimension, the ability to rise above the sufferings or challenges of the day and really celebrate, really celebrate, God’s love for us in our redemption,” Weisenburger said.

As for his new role in Detroit, Weisenburger said he expects to conclude his ministry there.

“I have served in four different dioceses now, which are in four different provinces, which are in four different episcopal regions,” he said. “I may be the most traveled of the bishops in the United States at this point, but I truly do think that my ministerial odyssey comes to a close now in the years ahead, right here in Detroit. This is home, and I am blessed to be here.

An installation Mass will take place on March 18th. The Archdiocese of Detroit is comprised of 3,901 square miles and has a total population of 4,305,209 of which 904,110, are Catholic, according to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Vigneron, 76, has led the Archdiocese of Detroit since 2009, at the appointment of Pope Benedict XVI. Vigneron was ordained an auxiliary bishop of Detroit in 1996, at the appointment of Pope John Paul II, who then appointed him in 2003 to lead the Diocese of Oakland, California, where he served until his appointment to lead the Archdiocese of Detroit.

At the introductory news conference, Vigneron welcomed Weisenburger to the archdiocese. He also said he plans to live in an apartment at the local seminary, and contribute to the archdiocese however possible. Fighting back tears, he also thanked many for a wonderful 16 years.

“I’d like to take a moment to speak for myself, to take this occasion to say thanks to all my co-workers here in the archdiocese, especially my brother priests, the deacons, all of those who have helped me to be a pastor in the Archdiocese,” Vigneron said.

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