Defend the Person, Propose the Gospel: What Archbishop Wester's Mosque Defense Reveals About Catholic Identity

Archbishop John Charles Wester of Santa Fe publicly defended the right of Muslims to build a mosque in New Mexico, grounding his argument in Dignitatis Humanae and U.S. constitutional protections. His statement is correct as far as it goes — and Catholic tradition requires going further. Defending a neighbor's legal right to worship and praying with genuine charity for their conversion are not competing obligations; they are the same missionary posture held at full tension.