In the aftermath of the El Paso Walmart shooting on August 3, 2019, Bishop Seitz wrote a pastoral letter on racism and white supremacy in which he wrote that, "If we are honest, racism is really about advancing, shoring up, and failing to oppose a system of white privilege and advantage based on skin color. When this system begins to shape our public choices, structure our common life together and becomes a tool of class, this is rightly called institutionalized racism. Action to build this system of hate and inaction to oppose its dismantling are what we rightly call white supremacy. This is the evil one and the ‘father of lies’ (John 8:44) incarnate in our everyday choices and lifestyles, and our laws and institutions." The pastoral letter invokes the history of racism in the United States, especially the history of colonialism and racial terror at the US-Mexico border. It calls on Catholics to fight against racism and acknowledges support from the Catholic Church in the United States for an assault weapons ban.