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As the first-ever American pope takes to the throne of St. Peter on Sunday, immigration advocates in the Valley hope his past can bring change to the future.

“As we’re beginning to learn more about Pope Leo, we have someone who understands the American context and the Latin American context,” said Joe Rubio, the director at Arizona Interfaith Network.

Rabbi John Linder, who wrote this article, displays the Hebrew Bible he gifted to Pope Francis during a 2022 meeting at the Vatican.

[Originally published by azcentral]

I’ll never forget my encounter with Pope Francis.

At the end of a nearly 90-minute meeting, I presented him with a gift — a leather-bound, gold-leaf Hebrew Bible — and told him what everyone in our delegation was feeling: “Your Holiness, I have never been more certain that we stand on common ground.”

In a display of relational power and solidarity in action, Valley Interfaith Project (VIP)’s Delegates Assembly united over 100 leaders representing diverse faith and community organizations across the Salt River Valley.

Pope Francis greets Monica Dorcey, West Valley Neighborhood Coalition

It is with great sadness that we learned the news this Easter Monday morning about the death of Pope Francis.

Over the past three years, we, as representatives of Valley Interfaith Project (VIP) and our sister organizations of the Industrial Areas Foundation, were privileged to meet him three times in his Santa Marta residence at the Vatican, each an encounter of 90 minutes or more.

Amidst rate hikes and low-income housing tax credits set to expire this year, Valley Interfaith Project continues to urge State lawmakers to incentivize affordable housing development.