San Antonio’s archbishop shares his thoughts on San Antonio’s Chick-fil-A airport chatter

SAN ANTONIO (KTSA News) — The Archbishop of San Antonio is now chiming in on the San Antonio city council’s decision to bar Chick-fil-A from operating at the San Antonio International Airport.

In a statement posted on the archdiocese’s Facebook page, Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller borrowed a statement from the late Archbishop of Chicago, Cardinal Francis George, which he made during a similar situation there.

“Recent comments by those who administer our city seem to assume that the city government can decide for everyone what are the ‘values’ that must be held by citizens of Chicago. … My understanding of being a Chicagoan never included submitting my value system to the government for approval. Must those whose personal values do not conform to those of the government of the day move from the city?”

San Antonio’s archbishop questioned that claim by some that the vote taken by the council reaffirmed that San Antonio was a “city of compassion.”  He instead said the Alamo City is a compassionate city that always comes together in mutual respect.

Garcia-Siller also questioned those who commented, as Mayor Ron Nirenberg did during the KTSA Mayoral Debate, that the contract should have been rejected because the restaurant was closed on Sundays.

“However, many people admire the company because they do close on Sundays, saying corporately they take that stance in order to provide their employees a day to rest with their families and worship if they choose,” the archbishop wrote.

But in summation, Garcia-Siller said the city council’s action was not correct.

“It is best in this circumstance that elected officials not restrict a restaurant chain’s right to conduct business. Let the marketplace decide, and consumers will select which businesses to support – or not support – with their dollars, as they always do.”