Father Carlos Velazquez of the Catholic Archdiocese of San Antonio, with other faith leaders, at the election press conference July 7, 2026. (Texas Impact Photo)
This week, I was going to write another installment in my series on denominational social statements, but instead I’ve decided to highlight two events from the week that illustrate how Texas faith leaders are leaning into their traditions’ teachings and speaking out for justice.
On the morning of July 7 in Houston, a federal immigration enforcement agent shot and killed God’s beloved child Lorenzo Salgado Araujo.
In response, Texas faith leaders have issued a statement calling for an immediate, independent, and transparent investigation; full transparency regarding all federal evidence; meaningful policy change in ICE enforcement operations; and restoration of trust and an end to enforcement that terrorizes communities.
The statement reaffirms the belief that all people, regardless of country of origin, are members of the family of God, saying, “This is a moral wound to our whole community, and we will not look away from it.”
On the morning of July 7 in San Antonio, faith leaders held a press conference to call on public officials to support free and fair elections in November.
The press conference was one of several across the country in which American faith leaders called on public officials to pledge to abide by the US Constitution and state election laws; refuse to comply with any unlawful Executive Orders or data requests from the Department of Justice that seek to restrict voting; and do their part to certify and/or seat the rightfully elected winners of elections this November, regardless of their party affiliation.
Speakers stressed the importance of voting to people of faith, saying, “Protecting the voice of every person is not only a civic duty, but a spiritual mandate, including committing ourselves to the ongoing work of dismantling systemic racism in all its forms.”
Demand free and fair elections
When faith communities and their leaders speak on public policy issues, they start by grounding themselves in their scriptures and the teachings of their traditions. They then apply those teachings to their current context. In our current context, clarity and affirmation of common purpose are crucial: It has not always seemed as vital as it does today to demand “full transparency regarding federal evidence” or to exact a pledge “to abide by the US Constitution” from our public officials.
It’s also important for faith leaders to provide educational and interpretive tools to the communities, so all the members can learn about the policy conclusions their faith tradition supports and the actions those conclusions suggest or demand from believers. Rev. Dan De Leon, a Texas Impact board member and senior pastor at Friends Congregational Church in College Station, created a litany of confession in consideration of the Houston ICE shooting.
A Litany of Confession on the Death of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo
One: The psalmist cries out, “How long, O Lord?
Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?”
All: And today we cry out,
How long, God of justice, mercy, and love?
Will we forget one another forever?
How long will we turn our attention away from each other?
How long will our numbed spirit let cruelty have its way with us?
One: The life of one of our neighbors—one of your beloved children—
has been snatched from us.
Lorenzo Salgado Araujo.
Today we lament his death at the hands of ICE,
and we confess that our lamentation might be lacking.
As one of your prophets, The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., said:
All: “An injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality,
tied in a single garment of destiny.
Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”
One: We pray that you would forgive our shortsightedness, O God,
and deliver us into broader, deeper vision
that sees everyone—always—as your beloved children,
especially those being detained, deported, and disappeared
by dehumanizing policies and actions
that have no place in your realm of justice, mercy, and love.
All: Correct our complicity with comforts afforded to us
at the expense of our neighbors’ dignity and wellbeing.
Turn our faces toward one another.
Direct our attention to your child, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo,
that neither he nor anyone would be dismissed as “illegal,”
and that he and all would seen as beloved human beings—
made in your divine image—
placed in this world and in our lives as neighbors,
to whom we are bound.
One: And so, we lament the more than 60,000 people still held in detention,
we grieve the more than 20 people who have died in ICE custody this year,
and we mourn the loss of our neighbor, Lorenzo,
and pray that his family and loved ones would be comforted.
All: We cry out that our neighbors would not be forgotten,
that the truth of the injustices that take them from us
would be brought to light and made low,
and that this cycle of harm would end for all our sakes. Amen.
Without question, litanies and statements are insufficient to express the depth of our grief and anger at the injustices our public officials do in our names. They are likewise insufficient to express the breadth of our love for our communities. While insufficient, however, they are necessary steps that help us get our bearings and map out a course of action.
McKinley Wiley
Bee Moorhead
Bee Moorhead serves as executive director of Texas Impact, a multifaith advocacy organization. (Texas Impact Photo)
Bee Moorhead serves as executive director of Texas Impact, the state's original interfaith advocacy network that helps people live out their faith in the public square, moving faith communities from charity to justice.