(OSV News) — A New Mexico archbishop is defending religious liberty for Muslims and other faith communities, following tensions over the planned construction of a mosque in Albuquerque.

The controversy has even seen an altercation take place at a Catholic parish, with police arresting a man for brandishing a gun at a Catholic pastor and his staff after the priest informed the man’s girlfriend, a prominent mosque opponent, that racism was a grave sin that could condemn her to hell.

Archbishop John C. Wester of Santa Fe issued a July 27 statement saying he felt “compelled to speak clearly and pastorally” regarding the issue.

“Our Muslim neighbors have the same God-given and constitutionally protected right to worship freely as every other faith community, including our own,” said the archbishop. “Defending that right is not only a civic duty but a core element of Catholic teaching.”

The statement joins the voices of other faith leaders who are supporting efforts by the Albuquerque Islamic Center to build a campus in Albuquerque’s North Valley. 

Center receives approval to proceed

The center, which had previously obtained land permissions, received approval to proceed from the Bernalillo County Planning Commission, which denied an appeal to the project July 1.

Local debate over the expansion drew pushback from some community members, who expressed concerns over traffic congestion as well as what KOB-TV journalist Alika Medina — who attended the hours-long July 1 public hearing on the project — described as “opposition to the Islamic faith.”

Father Vincent Paul Chavez, pastor of St. Therese of the Infant Jesus Parish in Albuquerque, joined a number of attendees in offering brief public comment at the July 1 hearing, saying he hoped “this issue is not about racism, which is a grievous sin against God’s love.”

According to an interview he later gave with KOB-TV, Father Chavez said project opponent Katrina Griego recorded his comments and posted them to her Facebook page, while urging “people to telephone the office of the archbishop” and have him and a fellow priest removed.

Posts show that Griego repeated that call on her Facebook page throughout the month of July.

A message on church’s outdoor sign

Father Chavez later posted a message on the church’s outdoor sign denouncing racism as “a grave sin against God’s love” and adding “Katrina G.” beneath the text.

On July 22, Griego filmed the sign. Father Chavez told KOB-TV that he approached her outside the church and said, “Katrina, I know you’re a follower of Jesus, as I am. I know for myself I would not want to hear from our Lord Jesus, ‘Out of my sight, you condemned, into that eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels’ because of your racism.”

Father Chavez said he then left, with the parish facilities director asking Griego to depart as well. Instead, she contacted her partner, David Romero, who then arrived at the parish campus, and according to police pulled a gun.

According to court records, Romero has been charged with two counts of felony aggravated assault. A status conference on the case has been scheduled for Aug. 26.

Cellphone video of altercation

Father Chavez spoke at length with OSV News July 30, confirming details he provided to KOB-TV. He also provided cellphone video he had taken of the altercation, showing Romero holding a gun in one hand while pointing with the other to the parish’s facilities manager.

Griego responded to OSV News’ request for comment in a Facebook message, stating, “We are in the process of hiring Attorney Lisa Torraco,” an Albuquerque-based criminal defense lawyer.

In his statement, Archbishop Wester — who did not address the parish altercation — stressed that “the Catholic Church has long affirmed religious liberty as essential to human dignity.”

He cited “Dignitatis Humanae,” the Second Vatican Council’s declaration on religious freedom, quoting the document’s teaching, rooted in the Gospel, that every person “must be free” in their response to God and from any coercion in matters of faith.

Freedom to worship a universal principle

“This principle applies universally,” said Archbishop Wester. “It is not limited to Catholics or Christians; it extends fully to Muslims, Jews, and all people who seek to worship according to their conscience.”

The archbishop added that “supporting the construction of a mosque is therefore entirely consistent with our own tradition and moral commitments.”

Amid “a time when divisions can easily deepen,” Archbishop Wester urged the community “to choose respect, dialogue, and peaceful coexistence.”

He stressed the need for “a willingness to listen, to learn, and to recognize the face of a neighbor rather than a stranger,” noting that “interfaith relationships enrich our civic life and strengthen the social fabric we all depend on.”

Archbishop Wester also stated that “anti-Muslim sentiment has no place in the heart of a Christian.”

Deplores ‘any hostility toward Muslims’

He deplored “any hostility toward Muslims” through “rhetoric, suspicion, or opposition to their places of worship” as “incompatible with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, who commands us to love our neighbor without exception.”

The archbishop added, “Fear of the other is not a Christian virtue. Hospitality is.”

He noted that “our Muslim brothers and sisters have faced discrimination and hostility in many parts of the country,” and that in such cases, “Catholics are called to stand beside them, not apart from them.”

Support for the local Muslim community’s “right to build a mosque is one concrete way to affirm their dignity and to reject the forces that seek to marginalize them,” said Archbishop Wester. “A neighborhood that makes room for the prayers of many is stronger, more compassionate, and more reflective of the values we claim to uphold.”

Gina Christian is a multimedia reporter for OSV News. Follow her on X @GinaJesseReina.