Bishop Sydney Metzger Dies; Advocate for Labor Headed Diocese of El Paso
Bishop Emeritus Sydney Metzger, who headed the Diocese of El Paso for 36 years--attracting national attention for his support of labor--has died after a lengthy illness. He was 83.
Metzger, who oversaw the Roman Catholic diocese as it grew from about 100,000 members to 250,000, died Saturday. He served as bishop from 1942 until his retirement in 1978.
Earlier this month, he celebrated the 60th anniversary of his ordination as a priest.
Metzger achieved a national reputation in 1973 as a supporter of labor when he backed a two-year walkout by newly unionized workers at the Farah clothing manufacturing plant in El Paso.
“Priests and nuns have an obligation to become involved,” Metzger said of his activities, which angered many in this border city. “In matters of social justice, the church has the right to speak because wherever morality touches any human, questioning it is no longer a purely political or economic matter.”
On Metzger’s 50th anniversary as a priest, Pope Paul VI expressed gratitude for his “unwavering defense of the right of the working people.”
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