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Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted will be the only guest on KAET’s Horizonte tomorrow.

Bishop Olmsted speaks to youth leaders about his pastoral letter "Serving Truth in the University."

The weekly public affairs program, which is  produced by Arizona Public Broadcasting (Channel 8), focuses on Arizona issues through a Hispanic lens. The program is hosted by José Cárdenas, senior vice president and general counsel of Arizona State University. The program will air at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 4.

Bishop Olmsted can provide key insight into the Hispanic community as leader of the local Church. Under the bishop’s leadership, the diocese has established an annual event honoring Our Lady of Guadalupe. Last December, the event drew several thousand Catholics. The bishop also set up a Justice for Immigrants task force that keeps an eye on immigration issues.

The bishop has written about the Gospel mandate to welcome immigrants in his Jesus Caritas column in The Catholic Sun and released a pastoral letter on immigration reform, together with the other bishops of Arizona, back in 2005. The diocesan Hispanic Ministry Office, among other things, ensures Spanish-speaking priests are available to celebrate Mass in the language of many Latin American immigrants. Bishop Olmsted along with Tucson Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas also penned an op-ed piece on immigration reform published in the Arizona Republic.

He’s also been involved with young Hispanic Catholics. For one particular retreat, the bishop taped a special message in Spanish for the group. Being in charge of a diocese with a large Hispanic population qualifies the bishop to speak on issues from a uniquely Catholic perspective. I’d also expect the bishop to talk about marriage preparation and Natural Family Planning in the Spanish-language.

For more, visit Arizona’s PBS Web site.