"I was looking forward to this roundtable discussion, but there was no discussion unfortunately," Sister Pimentel told The Valley Catholic, newspaper of the Brownsville Diocese.

"God asked the church especially to be a sign of his love by continuing to open up a space where our service to one another can be manifested," Bishop Daniel E. Flores said.

"The pope is sending a message to us! I think that is proof enough, that the love of the church for our poor people is really palpable, it's real."

"As a Catholic, I like to do this," he said. "It's a good thing to honor their dignity as human beings."

"My family and I were on the wrong side of the political fence," said Rita of Honduras in Spanish. Her last name has been omitted for her safety. "We received death threats, we were detained by the police for absolutely no reason."Had we not left, I don't know if we would hav