US Catholic bishops will elect a new leader and contend with Trump’s immigration tactics

The United States’ Catholic bishops volition elite their adjacent president and vice president connected Tuesday successful Baltimore. The ballot acts arsenic a barometer for the bishops’ priorities, hinging connected whether they take an outspoken civilization warrior arsenic their adjacent leader.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops arsenic a full was often astatine likelihood with the attack of Pope Francis. His successor, Pope Leo XIV, is continuing a akin pastoral accent connected marginalized people, poorness and the environment.

Half the 10 candidates connected the ballot travel from the blimpish helping of the conference. The quality is much successful benignant than substance. Most U.S. Catholic bishops are reliably blimpish connected societal issues, but immoderate spot much accent connected opposing termination and LGBTQ+ rights.

“The slate of 10 candidates perfectly reflects the dynamics of the American hierarchy successful that it’s divided down the middle,” said David Gibson, manager of Fordham University’s Center connected Religion and Culture.

There is nary wide front-runner. The candidates were nominated by their chap bishops, and the victor volition win outgoing leader, Military Services Archbishop Timothy Broglio, for a three-year term. The existent vice president, Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore, is excessively adjacent to the mandatory status property of 75 to presume the apical post.

Among conservatives up for leadership, Oklahoma City Archbishop Paul Coakley is seen arsenic a beardown contender, having already been elected successful 2022 to service arsenic secretary, the No. 3 league official.

Coakley serves arsenic advisor to the Napa Institute, an relation for blimpish Catholic powerbrokers. In 2018, helium publically supported an ardent professional of Pope Francis, Italian Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, who was aboriginal excommunicated for schism.

A well-known sanction connected the ballot is Bishop Robert Barron of Minnesota’s Winona-Rochester diocese, whose fashionable Word connected Fire ministry has made him a Catholic media star. He serves connected President Donald Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission, on with different candidate, Bishop Kevin Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Indiana.

Some Catholic insiders are hoping for a person who could assistance unify U.S. bishops and enactment good with the Vatican. They constituent to contenders similar Archbishop Charles Thompson of Indianapolis and Bishop Daniel Flores of Brownsville, Texas.

As Latinos, Flores and different candidate, Archbishop Nelson Perez of Philadelphia, correspond a increasing conception of the U.S. Catholic Church. Flores has besides been the U.S. bishops’ person successful the Vatican’s synod process to modernize the church.

“Certainly, the 2 names that get talked astir the astir are Flores and Coakley,” said Steven Millies, a prof of nationalist theology astatine the Catholic Theological Union successful Chicago.

Flores has an “ideologically antithetic perspective,” according to Millies. From his diocese on the U.S.-Mexico border, helium is accepted connected intersexual morals and outspoken successful defending migrants.

The bishops program to sermon migration during the meeting. On galore issues, they look arsenic divided and polarized arsenic their country, but connected immigration, adjacent the astir blimpish Catholic leaders basal connected the broadside of migrants.

The question is however powerfully the full assemblage plans to talk astir the Trump administration’s harsh migration tactics.

Fear of migration enforcement has suppressed Mass attendance astatine immoderate parishes. Local clerics are warring to administer sacraments to detained immigrants. U.S. Catholic bishops person already shuttered their longstanding refugee resettlement program aft the Trump medication halted national backing for resettlement aid.

Pope Leo precocious called for “deep reflection” successful the United States astir the attraction of migrants held successful detention, saying that “many radical who person lived for years and years and years, ne'er causing problems, person been profoundly affected by what is going connected close now.”

___

Associated Press religion sum receives enactment done the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with backing from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely liable for this content.