Archbishop Wester defends proposed mosque in New Mexico, criticizes ‘anti-Muslim sentiment’

Archbishop John Charles Wester of Santa Fe, New Mexico, voiced support for a Muslim group’s effort to construct a mosque in the suburbs of Albuquerque after the plan faced some community pushback.The Albuquerque Islamic Center received approval for the new mosque in North Valley in a 5-1 vote by the Bernalillo County Planning Commission on July 1. The hearing was about five hours long with comments from the community, and the commission ultimately approved the mosque but not the proposed…