Archbishop José Gomez, president of the US bishops’ conference, issued an unprecedented challenge to President-elect Joe Biden at the close of last week’s virtual meeting.
Acknowledging areas of potential collaboration with the incoming administration, from climate change to immigration, Archbishop Gomez nonetheless focused on the elimination of abortion, “our pre-eminent priority”, even though it is the courts, not the president, which set the parameters for abortion rights.
“When politicians who profess the Catholic faith support [abortion rights], there are additional problems,” the archbishop said. “Among other things, it creates confusion among the faithful about what the Catholic Church actually teaches on these questions.” He announced the formation of a working group to study means of confronting the new administration. Neither the statement, nor the working group, were brought before the bishops for a vote.
In the election of committee chairs, Cardinal Timothy Dolan was elected to lead the Religious Liberty committee and Archbishop William Lori was chosen to chair the Pro-Life Activities Committee, two of the most influential posts at the conference. Archbishop Timothy Broglio was selected as chair of the Committee on Priorities and Plans, another key post. Mgr Jeffrey Burrill was elected general secretary of the conference.
The bishops discussed the McCarrick report in both public and executive session. Bishop Michael Olson of Fort Worth, Texas, called for the release of information about whom the former cardinal had given money to, an issue overlooked in the report. West Virginia Bishop Mark Brennan called for reforms to the process of nominating bishops.
The US presidential election result has not yet been officially confirmed because of vote count challenges from the legal team of President Donald Trump. Bishop Michael Sheridan of Colorado Springs called for prayers if and when petitions come to the Supreme Court while Tyler, Texas, Bishop Joseph Strickland complained that the bishops’ conference had issued its traditional statement congratulating the winner before the election had been officially certified.
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