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Flores, born in Palacios along the Texas gulf coast and raised
in Corpus Christi, comes most recently from Detroit where he
served as an auxiliary bishop and led that archdiocese's Latino
outreach.
In a prepared statement, Detroit Archbishop Allen Vignerón
said Flores had ``placed the ministry to Hispanic Catholics here
on a solid foundation.''
In his role in Detroit, Flores was outspoken in calling for
immigration reform. On Wednesday, he said his new role would
allow him to bear witness to the effect immigration policy has
on families.
``The reform for immigration is long overdue,'' Flores said at a
news conference at the Basilica of Our Lady of San Juan del
Valle in San Juan. The church's job is not to tell legislators
what the law should say, but to outline guiding principles for
the common good, he said.
Flores, switching between Spanish and English throughout his
remarks, said the merger of cultures in the border region
represents opportunities for cultural respect and solidarity.
Asked about his thoughts when first informed of the pope's
decision, Flores laughed and said he thought, ``When will I be
able to tell my mother?''
In Brownsville, Flores will take over a diocese of about 800,000
Catholics where Latinos are the overwhelming majority. The
diocese, which runs along the Mexican border in the Rio Grande
Valley, covers one of the country's most impoverished regions.
Nearly half live at or below poverty level, according to the
diocese.
Latinos are playing an increasingly important role in the
Catholic Church in the United States. About 45 percent of all
Catholics under age 30 in the U.S. are Latino, according to a
2007 survey by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.
Nearly half of all immigrants in the U.S. are Catholic,
according to the survey.
Flores' parents have roots along the Texas-Mexico border, both
coming from families around Zapata, Texas, about 200 miles south
of San Antonio.
He graduated from high school in Corpus Christi and attended the
University of Texas at Austin for two years before entering
seminary.
Flores spent his first decade as a priest in the Corpus Christi
area until he was sent to Rome to pursue his doctoral studies,
which he completed in 2000.
Upon returning to Corpus Christi in 2000, Carmody appointed
Flores chancellor of the Corpus Christi diocese.
Flores left Corpus Christi to teach in seminary in Houston for
four years, before returning to become rector of the Corpus
Christi Cathedral in 2005.
In October 2006, Pope Benedict XVI named Flores auxiliary bishop
to the Detroit archdiocese.
Flores will be installed as the Brownsville diocese's sixth
bishop Feb. 2, 2010.
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