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If you missed Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted’s interview last night on KAET Channel 8, don’t worry. You can watch it right now on Arizona’s PBS Web site.

Bishop Olmsted is interviewed on 'Horizonte.'

The bishop sat down for a 24-minute interview with Horizonte host José Cárdenas, senior vice president and general counsel of Arizona State University.

The wide-ranging interview covered topics from the Phoenix Diocese’s 40th anniversary to the recently laicized Dale Fushek. To each question, the bishop gave straightforward answers.

If you have the time, you’d be best served watching the interview yourself. There’s always something deficient about the written word. All the same, here are the many highlights:

The Horizonte interview aired last night.

The bishop first discussed how the Phoenix Diocese grew out of the dioceses of Tucson and Gallup, and discussed the valuable impact of French and Irish missionaries.

“The Irish had an impact all around the world,” he said.

Shortly there after, Cárdenas asked about an old controversy at St. Mary’s Basilica. Years ago, Mexican Catholics would only be allowed to attend Mass in the basement.

“The Catholic Church is made up of many different ethnic groups and they haven’t always been a melting pot that was boiling smoothly, and that was true here,” the bishop said.

“The pastor who built the present church that we know as St. Mary’s Basilica,” he added, “he did not see the upper church being used by the Hispanic population, even though when the parish started it would have served only Hispanics. It was a sad part of our history.”

Bishop Olmsted is interviewed on 'Horizonte.'

As a result, the church for Immaculate Heart Parish was built.

“That’s why Immaculate Heart has such great meaning for our all of Hispanic community,” the bishop explained.

Bishop Olmsted acknowledged the value of the Native American Catholics, to whom the Church first came “to bring the Good News of Christ.”

He also acknowledged the indispensable efforts of Catholics sisters who operated the first Catholics schools.

“They were great teachers. We wouldn’t have had Catholic education here if it were not for these nuns,” the bishop said.

The interview also touched somewhat briefly on immigration.

“The Church in the United States has been strengthened by immigration for many, many years, going back more than a century,” the bishop said. “The Church has seen itself as having an important responsibility of welcoming immigrants.”

The responsibility of welcoming immigrants, he said, falls to the parishes. He noted that he’s recruited Spanish-speaking priests and is requiring all seminarians to speak Spanish well.

“So it’s big effort that’s needed,” he said. “But it’s also a great enrichment to have these people come.”

Cárdenas asked about Sheriff Joe Arpaio, noting that many would like the bishop to more “vocal” on immigration issues.

Bishop Olmsted answers questions on 'Horizonte.'

“We always have a great concern about the atmosphere, especially if it isn’t welcoming and if doesn’t show respect for the dignity of every human person,” the bishop said. “I see the Church’s role as primarily to lift up, through our teaching, the dignity of the human person and through the way that we welcome [immigrants] at our schools and at our parishes.”

He also touched about efforts being made on the political level.

“In terms of those involved with political life, I’m in conversation with them. We have the Arizona Catholic Conference, which is engaged in conversations with all elected officials. And then at the national level, which is actually crucial if we’re going to really address the immigration issue satisfactorily, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has a continuing dialog with elected officials and the president” in Washington.

Cárdenas also asked Bishop Olmsted to compare himself to Bishop James S. Rauch, who was a supporter of the Farm workers movement.

“I see myself as needing to lift up the dignity of each human person and seeing [human dignity's] central role to every issue that’s out there — from the unborn child in the womb to the elderly person to the immigrant who’s recently arrive,” the bishop said. “Even if the person has no documentation, they remain a person made in God’s image and deserves to have their dignity respected.”

Cárdenas asked the bishop to talk about the decision to staff All Saints Catholic Newman Center with diocesan priests, rather than Dominican friars, who’ve been serving the ASU community for decades.

“The rationale comes from a great desire to be even more as a diocese with our young people,” he said. “So a year ago and a half ago I put in all our Catholic high schools a priest chaplain. I wanted to have an even greater presence in our high schools of our priests and therefore a closer engagement with our parishes and our schools.”

The bishop added that “the Dominican Friars have done great service there. There’s a little bit closer relationship between all the organizations in the diocese and our parishes if we have our own diocesan priests there.”

Cárdenas asked if the decision wasn’t based on the Dominicans being “too liberal.”

“I think they’re really fine priests,” the bishop said. “I could not speak more highly of Fr. [James] Thompson who’s the present pastor there. He’s been a great help to me especially in this whole time of transition. Which I’m sure has been a difficult time for him because it’s of the uncertainty the doubts of the some of the people there because the Dominican priest will be leaving there this June.”

The bishop sees religious order priests as complementary to diocesan priests, adding that he’s in talks with the Western Providence of Dominicans about their possible involvement in parish life in the diocese.

“Many of our young people leave home and go to the university,” the bishop explained. “If we can make a clearer link there between our parish and our university, I think they’ll be more quickly engaged with the Catholic Newman Center.”

The new marriage preparation requirements also came up.

“Many of our young people who get engaged don’t have a clear understanding of the Church’s teaching on marriage,” he said. “Without that and without the added skills they need to understand good communication, the role prayer and the dimensions that they need to have a happy marriage, the chances of having a successful marriage are not good, as we’ve seen from statistics throughout our country.”

In response to this challenge, the diocese is strengthening its marriage preparation program. The new initiative took effect in January.

The bishop answers many questions on 'Horizonte.'

Cárdenas also asked the bishop about being “tough on gay issues.”

“What I have difficulty with is when we say homosexual activity is not wrong,” the bishop said. “That’s the clear teaching of the Bible, that’s the clear teaching of the Church. It’s always been. The dignity of every person, whether they have a homosexual orientation or not, is something we defend and uplift — no matter what their state in life — they’re made in God’s image and deserve to be defended and uplifted.”

Cárdenas followed up by asking the bishop about the $50,000 the Phoenix Diocese sent to Maine to support “anti-gay marriage effort in Maine.”

Bishop Olmsted quickly corrected Cárdenas, “to support defense of marriage efforts there.”

“It seemed to us very important to defend marriage in Arizona, when it came up for ballot here,” the bishop said. “When it came up for ballot in Maine it was the only place it was being challenged at the time. As we know, what happens in one state affects other states as well. So it was part of our efforts to be of assistance to the local bishop there and to defend marriage between a man and a woman.”

Cárdenas also asked about perhaps the most challenging issue facing the Church in recent history — sexual abuse by priests.

“As you know, there’s been a huge in society with regard to the abuse of children. That’s grown and grow and grow. The greatest place where that happens, sadly, is in families and in schools. It’s been part sadly of our Church institutions,” he said.

Cárdenas asked about Fushek.

“We’ve had to take a hard look at ourselves to make sure that anyone who’s abused a child is removed from our schools, institutions and from ministry,” the bishop said. “So that would be what’s involved with the case of Dale Fushek.”

The policy of the U.S. bishops has been very consistent and quite strong since the Dallas Charter was put into effect to protect children and young people, the bishop said.

And how has the economic downturn affected the Church?

“It’s a difficult time for all of us around the United States and in fact around the world. In some ways we see this as a time to emphasize the deeper values, the spiritual values, the values of the family, the values of relationships,” the bishop said. “And, we see the Church playing a very important role in strengthening people’s hope if they lose their jobs and if they’re going through difficult times through their families.”

The bishop singled out the work of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and Catholic Charities.

“What we want to do is to be make sure [the initiatives] we do have — which are quite extensive — are able to continue to serve well and to be focused on the greatest needs,” he said.

The bishop explained the growing diversity in Phoenix was one the Church welcomed.

“The Catholic Church embraces all these different cultures and all these different languages and traditions,” he said, noting that Korean, Vietnamese, Lebanese and Iraqi Catholics are forming communities within the diocese’s boundaries. “We just keep growing in many different ways.”

Finally, Cárdenas — following up on rumors about the next archbishop of Los Angeles — asked the bishop about the possibility of being named coadjutor archbishop alongside Cardinal Roger Mahoney.

“That’s just a rumor,” the bishop said. “I’m very happy here in Arizona. I’m pretty confident this is where God wants me to be.”