News

National Catholic Reporter Spotlights Valley Interfaith Assistance with Synod

January 04, 2023

[Excerpt] "Among those also asking an IAF affiliate for help was Bishop Daniel Flores of Brownsville, Texas, who is overseeing the entire U.S. church's participation in the global synod... Flores pointed to the many commonalities between the synodal process and the methods long used...

Pope Francis Meets with Valley Interfaith Leaders

October 14, 2022

[Excerpt] On Friday, October 14, our network (Valley Interfaith and the Industrial Areas Foundation) had the rare opportunity to visit with Pope Francis at the Vatican. An interfaith delegation of 20 leaders and organizers from the West/Southwest Industrial Areas Foundation met with him to...

Port Isabel School District Votes Down Ch. 313 Tax Break After Valley Interfaith & Allies Speak Out

July 27, 2022

At the Point Isabel ISD Board meeting, Texas LNG sought last-minute approval for tax abatement through the expiring Chapter 313 program. Leaders from Valley Interfaith, alongside allied organizations, made the case to the board. [Excerpt] On a unanimous vote Tuesday night, the school district voted...

Texas IAF Blocks $10 Billion Dollar Corporate Tax Giveaway to Big Oil

June 01, 2021

[Excerpts] When organizers set out to overturn Texas’s giveaway program for the oil and gas industry, they had a long game in mind. Over 20 years, the tax exemption program known as Chapter 313 had delivered $10 billion in tax cuts to corporations operating...

Valley Interfaith, Texas IAF Declare State Power Failure 'Act of Sheer Negligence' & Demand Accountability from Elected Officials

February 20, 2021

While state officials announced later in the day that power had stabilized and forced shutoffs were no longer needed, more than 300,000 households remained without power....Texas was especially hard hit because most of its power grid is isolated from the interconnected networks serving the...

Catholic Bishops Daniel Flores and Greg Kelly Call for Accountability to Prevent Future Failures in the Electrical Grid

February 20, 2021

[Excerpt below] While we desperately need immediate relief, we must also seek long-term systemic change. As faith leaders, we have a responsibility to cry out for the vulnerable and seek the common good, and this means the reform of a utility system that has...

Valley Interfaith Fights for Expansion of Housing Relief, Hidalgo Starts with $7.5M in Rent and Mortgage Support

May 28, 2020

[Excerpt] Eddie Anaya, a member of Valley Interfaith, asked commissioners during the public comment section of the meeting to consider raising the program’s funding to $25 million. “In just over three months, as of May 18, 2020, the Texas Workforce Commission reported 25,667 residents...