I’m not sure whether to see the Rt. Rev. A. Robert Hirschfeld, above, the Episcopal bishop of New Hampshire, as a naive priest caught in the net of his own silly words, or a political flamethrower out to ratchet up Le Resistance against the deportation of illegal aliens.
About a week ago, he addressed a small crowd attending a vigil for Renee Good on the steps of the New Hampshire Statehouse in Concord. Good, you will remember, was killed in Minneapolis by an ICE Officer as she used her car to block federal immigration agents from apprehending illegal aliens.
The Religion News Service (RNS) reports his remarks this way:
… Hirschfeld, who said he did not have prepared remarks, suddenly launched into something closer to a short sermon.
“We are entering a new era of martyrdom,” he said, framing Good — who family members have said was Christian — as a martyr. He rattled off other examples such as Óscar Romero, the Catholic archbishop who was killed in El Salvador in 1980. He also mentioned local hero Jonathan Daniels, a white Episcopal seminarian and civil rights activist who was killed in 1965 while shielding a Black girl from a shotgun blast fired by a racist.
Faith leaders of today, Hirschfeld said, may end up in similar situations as they push back against the actions of federal immigration agents in cities across the country.
“I have told the clergy of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire that we may be entering into that same witness,” he said. “I’ve asked them to get their affairs in order, to make sure they have their wills written. Because it may be that now is no longer the time for statements, but for us — with our bodies — to stand between the powers of this world and the most vulnerable.”
His language went viral because it sounded like he was calling on clergy in his diocese to mobilize and prepare to die in shielding immigrants from ICE agents.
It generated these headlines:
- NPR’s headline: Amid ICE clashes, bishop urges clergy to prepare their wills
- ABC: New Hampshire bishop warns clergy to prepare for ‘new era of martyrdom’
- Interfaith Alliance: This is a powerful testament to the moment we are in and the courage it demands.
But when the RNS tried to flesh out what he was trying to say, the good Bishop crawfished into what sounds like a completely different position.
In an interview with RNS, Hirschfeld said the attention given to his message was something of a shock. He said he has issued similar warnings to clergy for years, such as when fellow priests and bishops gathered to push for gun control legislation. And he stressed that whenever he broaches the subject, he’s referring to a tragic situation that may occur — not one that faith leaders should seek out.
“I’m not telling clergy, ‘Go find a rifle to stand in front of,’” Hirschfeld said. “I’m not saying, ‘Go look for a way to martyr yourself.’ All I’m saying is, when we put on those garments of our Christian faith, they are not always welcomed in this society. Those virtues and those postures in this world can be met with rage and even violence.“
Bishop Hirschfeld says he has used this language in other sermons on other social causes, but that doesn’t mean to say he wants the flock to “go look for a way to martyr yourself.”
But these things were said at a vigil for Renee Good, so isn’t that exactly what some people might do?
Look, Renee Good was trained to do what she was doing by ICE Watch. The whole goal was to throw themselves in front of ICE officers, which, in Good’s case, were trying to apprehend an alleged pedophile illegal immigrant who was wanted for child molestation.
So, fish or cut bait, Bishop Hirschfeld — was Ms. Good doing the Lord’s work, or not?
Sherman R. Frederick/Properly Subversive
(Sherman R. Frederick is a longtime Nevada journalist and a member of the Nevada Press Association Hall of Fame. You can read more from him at shermanfrederick.substack.com.)
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