Sheriff Joe Arpaio asks for help meeting pope in Mexico
Immigration foe wants pope to say a prayer for his ailing wife and also wants to show him 'I do have a heart'
- Arpaio and his wife, Ava, were married in Mexico City
- Sheriff has reached out through Mexico's general consulate in Phoenix
- Arpaio says he and pope come at immigration from different points of view
With his wife sick with cancer, Sheriff Joe Arpaio has reached out to Catholic officials in hopes of crossing the border next week to meet Pope Francis in Juarez, Mexico.
Arpaio said he would like to ask the pope to say a prayer for his wife of 58 years, Ava, who found out in December she has cancer.
"It would be nice for me maybe to be able to say hello to him, and maybe he will say a prayer," Arpaio said, adding that he would like to let the pope know that "I do have a heart."
He said he also wants to meet with Pope Francis to share his thoughts on border issues, including immigration and drug violence.
Arpaio's tough stance on illegal immigration over the years has frequently drawn condemnation from immigration advocates; Pope Francis has called on world leaders to do more to accept migrants fleeing poverty and violence, which is expected to be a major theme in his visit to Mexico.
Arpaio acknowledged that he and the pope may not agree on the issue but said they come from two different points of view.
"He represents everybody. I am a law-enforcement officer," Arpaio said.
A prediction: Pope Francis will do something unpredictable during his visit to Mexico
Pope Francis arrives in Mexico City on Friday and plans to visit Juarez next Wednesday on the last day of his five-day trip to Mexico, the world's second-largest Catholic country.
Arpaio said he first asked Michael Chan, the honorary consul of Estonia, in Arizona, to help arrange a meeting with Pope Francis. Arpaio's attempt to meet with the pope in Mexico was first reported by Cronkite News.
Chan said Arpaio contacted him to serve as an "intermediary" because of Chan's friendship with Henry Cappello, the honorary consul of Malta in Arizona. Through his work as founder and president of Caritas in Veritate International, a Catholic-based aid organization that serves people in poor countries, Cappello is "very well connected" to Vatican officials, Chan said.
Arizonans to make the trek for Pope Francis� first visit to border
Chan said he was unsuccessful after Cappello was told by Vatican officials in Washington, D.C., that the request would have to be handled by Mexican government officials and Vatican officials in Mexico.
On Tuesday, Arpaio then sent a letter to Roberto Rodriguez Hernandez, the consul general of Mexico in Phoenix, asking for his help arranging a meeting with Pope Francis.
"As you know, my wife, Ava, is very ill and my family are devout Catholics. I married my wife 58 years ago in Mexico City, in a Catholic Church," Arpaio wrote.
He hasn't gotten a response yet.