‘I will keep defending immigrants,’ new WV bishop says in interview
May 11, 2026
» Continue to this story on The Guardian
CWN Editor's Note: The recently appointed bishop of Wheeling-Charleston, West Virginia, told The Guardian that he will keep “defending immigrants and fighting for fair treatment for them.”
“We are not approaching this from a partisan political standpoint, but from a moral one,” said Bishop Evelio Menjivar-Ayala. “The Church bases its teaching, its social doctrine, on the Holy Scriptures and the Gospel. The defense of immigrants’ rights is … grounded in the Gospel and the Holy Scriptures.”
Born in El Salvador in 1970, Bishop Menjivar-Ayala was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Washington in 2004 and appointed an auxiliary bishop in 2022. He was the subject of a 2023 Washington Post essay, “He was an undocumented immigrant. He became ‘Your Excellency’.“
The above note supplements, highlights, or corrects details in the original source (link above). About CWN news coverage.
For all current news, visit our News home page.
All comments are moderated. To lighten our editing burden, only current donors are allowed to Sound Off. If you are a current donor, log in to see the comment form; otherwise please support our work, and Sound Off!
