2025 Annual Cardinal Bernardin Lecture featuring Bishop Mark Seitz
The Hank Center is excited to welcome Most Rev. Mark J. Seitz, Bishop of El Paso and Chairman of the USCCB Committee on Migration, to deliver the annual Cardinal Bernardin Common Cause lecture.
Immigration is a particularly critical issue at the present moment in the United States. In the midst of the contentious public dialog, Catholics find themselves at an important theological and moral crossroads. This is especially true in light of Pope Francis’ recent letter to the United States calling for all bishops to work closely with migrants and refugees, and for all Catholics to reject narratives that discriminate and dehumanize. Just as Pope Francis has been a consistent and firm voice on the infinite dignity of migrants over the past decade, so too has Bishop Seitz.
In addition to being outspoken on the duty to care for immigrants, Bishop Seitz has served migrant families and refugees face-to-face in El Paso with compassion, solidarity, and love. Yet as Bishop Seitz’s ministry models, the gospel obligation to welcome the stranger with openness is not just the work of a ‘border bishop’ like himself, but rather it is for all who are part of a true ‘border church,’ which, in the vision of Pope Francis, exists to go out to the margins.
Event details
Post-event Video
This lecture is named for Joseph Bernardin who served as Cardinal Archbishop of Chicago from 1982 to 1996. Cardinal Bernardin was committed to the vision of the Second Vatican Council —with a particular focus on the importance of peacemaking, lay partnerships, and interreligious dialogue. Cardinal Bernardin further sought to address social issues, especially in developing his “Seamless Garment Ethic of Life," a practice he modelled and developed in the ground-breaking Catholic Common Ground Initiative. The Bernardin Lecture features church leaders as devoted to finding common ground as Cardinal Bernardin was.