Paper No. 10: Incubating the Culture of Corruption – The Catholic Church and Political Corruption in El Paso Texas (July 16, 2015) White Paper

Corruption in a community can only flourish when society not only allows it to grow but encourages it as well. Deep‐rooted corruption, like the one found in El Paso, must be ingrained into the fabric of society. To do that, the moral compass of society must accept that corruption is an acceptable standard for the community. A community’s moral compass is defined through education and encouragement. Encouragement is demonstrated every time a pillar of the community, like Bob Jones or Dana Pittard, are lauded by the business community and political elites. On the other hand, educating corruption takes many forms, from allowing corrupt behavior in educational settings, such as the school districts, or by ignoring corruption within the policing agencies as well as governmental circles. The Catholic Church should set the moral compass of El Paso, but its actions only encourage corruption as a way of life.