A letter to the new leaders of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
Archbishop Timothy Broglio and Archbishop William Lori
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has elected a new president and a new vice president.
The previous conference president, Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez, had a mixed record of showing Pope Francis-like pastoral leadership. He could be pro-immigrant, yet also encouraged efforts to weaponize Communion against pro-choice lawmakers like Joe Biden and even began to use some Christian nationalist language in recent years.
His successor, Military Services Archbishop Timothy Broglio, is even more conservative, and is widely seen as an "anti-Francis archbishop." Only last week, he doubled down on hatefully and incorrectly blaming gay priests for the abuse crisis.
Although Archbishop Broglio is not the USCCB president we would have chosen, we sincerely congratulate him and the new vice president, Baltimore Archbishop William Lori, on their elections. Their new positions give both men a rare opportunity to turn the page and become uniters, not dividers.
Add your name now: Ask Archbishops Broglio and Lori to be pastoral, Francis-like leaders who use their new roles to end the culture wars once and for all >>
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To:
Archbishop Timothy Broglio and Archbishop William Lori
From:
[Your Name]
Dear Archbishop Broglio and Archbishop Lori,
As fellow Catholics, ecumenical Christians, and other people of faith, we extend our congratulations on your recent election as President and Vice President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. This marks not only an important new chapter in your personal ministries, but also a time of renewed opportunity for the Church in the United States.
We write to you in a spirit of Christian fellowship and hope, and also with a deep commitment to the common good.
Pope Francis models the virtues of servant leadership. In his words and actions, he demonstrates how bishops, priests, lay Catholics, and indeed all Christians should heed Christ's call to love one another and to put the poor and marginalized first. Pope Francis also consistently reminds us that Catholic social teaching is not a single-issue ideology, and that the Church's teachings about the common good and human dignity challenge narrow political agendas.
Sadly, the Catholic hierarchy in our country is often perceived by the Catholic faithful and other religious communities to be a source of division and acrimony rather than an expression of love, mercy, and encounter. Christian nationalism has even begun to creep into corners of the Church, and a vocal minority of extremist Catholics with large platforms and followings on social media embrace conspiracy theories and spread lies about elections.
In your new roles, you have the opportunity to begin a season of healing and start a new, pastoral era of American Catholic leadership. As your fellow Catholics and ecumenical friends, we urge you to follow Pope Francis's example of encounter and dialogue, speak out against efforts to weaponize Communion, provide maximum transparency around sexual abuse issues, oppose the firings of LGBTQ Catholic school employees, and implement a more robust teaching of Laudato Si that promotes actions that care for our common home. We ask you to unequivocally denounce Christian nationalism as an affront to the Gospel and to challenge those who are actively undermining our democracy by making it harder to vote.
Please be assured of our prayers and goodwill as you lead the conference at this time of great challenge and opportunity.