Archbishop Chaput of Denver is traveling around his see, talking about immigration:

The crowd sat on folding chairs while immigrants listened in with translation headsets as Chaput, speaking under a 25-foot portrait of Our Lady of Guadalupe, opened by explaining the church’s immigration position as one that respects the rule of law but also believes immigrants have a right to human dignity and freedom.

This is Chaput’s third such meeting since July. He also has faced a heavily working-class immigrant crowd in Greeley and a mostly well- to-do Anglo parish in Centennial.

The mostly relaxed 90-minute session was a combination of lengthy, impassioned statements from audience members interspersed with some tart exchanges with the archbishop.

One of the most pointed exchanges came in the opening question from Edward Powers, who later identified himself as the owner of a Texas manufacturing firm and who said he lives 40 percent of the time in the Vail Valley.

"With all due respect, bishop, I do believe people should respect the law," Powers said, adding that when his family came from Ireland during the 19th century, respect for the law was paramount.

He wondered why immigration laws couldn’t be structured so that there was an orderly process, for example, to get a green card.

Asked Chaput: "You’re going to make parents leave their children and go back (to their home country) and wait in line for five years for a green card? Is that sensible?"