Interviewer

Oscar J. Martinez, Anne Reidmiller, and Sarah E. John

Project

Class Project

Biographical Synopsis of Interviewee

(Bishop of El Paso, 1942-1978) Born in Fredericksburg, Texas; studied at St. John's Seminary in San Antonio, Texas, and the North American College in Rome, where he was ordained in 1926. See biographical sketch following transcript.

Summary of Interview

Biographical data; how he became interested in the priesthood; studies and experiences in Rome in the 1920s and 1930s; experiences as Asst. Bishop in Santa Fe, New Mexico in 1941; experiences as Bishop of El Paso, including WWII era, labor issues from the 1950s to the 1970s (especially the Farah Strike), the lack of financial resources; the church and Mexican Americans (including acquiring vocations for the priesthood); discrimination; the Chicano Movement; illegal aliens; the organization of the Catholic Church; the Equal Rights Amendment; abortion; ordination of women to the priesthood; contraception; Black Catholics in El Paso; integration. **Also included are a biographical sketch, newspaper articles, and notes concerning Bishop Emeritus Metzger.

Date of Interview

8-8-1978

Length of Interview

3 hours 30 minutes

Tape Number

No. 507

Transcript Number

No. 507

Length of Transcript

91 pages

Date Transcribed

1-11-1982

Transcriber

Irene D. Ramirez

Interview Number

No. 507

Terms of Use

Unrestricted

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