Collectively, we represent people across a range of religious traditions: a bishop of the Roman Catholic Church, the president of the National Association of Evangelicals and the president of the Southern Baptist Convention, the nation’s largest evangelical denomination.
We are a diverse group of Christian leaders. We also have significant theological and political differences, as do the congregants whom we lead. But for all of our differences, we agree on the urgency of immigration reforms — and polls show, so do the vast majority of Americans, including super-majorities of Republicans, Democrats and Independents. As President Joe Biden rightly observed in his first State of the Union address, we can and should both improve border security and fix the immigration system.
Read the full article at Newsweek.
Mario E. Dorsonville is the auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., and the chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Migration. He studied for the priesthood at Theological Seminary of Bogotá where he received a bachelor’s degrees in philosophy and sacred theology. He also studied at Catholic University in Washington, D.C., where he received his Doctor of Ministry. Bishop Dorsonville has served in several pastoral roles at parishes in Bogotá and the Washington, D.C., area.
Walter Kim became the NAE president in January 2020. He also serves as teacher-in-residence at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Charlottesville, Virginia, after ministering for 15 years at Boston’s historic Park Street Church. He has spent nearly three decades preaching, writing and engaging in collaborative leadership to connect the Bible to the significant intellectual, cultural and social issues of the day. He serves on the boards of Christianity Today and World Relief, and on the Advisory Council of Gordon College. Kim received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, his M.Div. from Regent College in Vancouver, and his B.A. from Northwestern University, and he is a licensed minister in the Conservative Congregational Christian Conference.
Ed Litton was elected the 63rd president of the Southern Baptist Convention in June 2021. He has also served as senior pastor of Redemption Church in Mobile, Alabama, since July 1994. Prior to Redemption Church, he was a home missionary appointed to work in the evangelism office of the Arizona Southern Baptist Convention, and founded Mountain View Baptist Church in Tucson, Arizona. Litton holds a B.A. in religion and theatre from Grand Canyon University, an M.Div. from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and a D.Min. from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.