The failed leadership of US bishops is clear - National Catholic Reporter editorial
What has become clear is that too many of the bishops still are captives of the political culture wars; that the conference as a whole has been drained of authority and credibility because of the ongoing sexual abuse scandal; and that the bishops have been frozen in place by their inability to collectively and honestly examine the secretive, privileged culture that was the pathway to the current mess.
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Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput affirmed that abortion has held the top spot as an issue for the bishops for years. Archbishop Alexander Sample of Portland, Oregon, placed the bishops squarely in the stream of partisan politics when he argued: "We are at a unique moment with the upcoming election cycle to make a real challenge to Roe v. Wade, given the possible changes to the Supreme Court. We should not dilute our efforts to protect the unborn."
That is a thinly disguised endorsement of not only the Republican Party but also the Trump administration. In more than 40 years of pursuing the narrow objective of a legal remedy to abortion, the bishops have placed themselves at the service of those who want to load the courts with conservative judges, but they've accomplished little, continuous polling tells us, to persuade anyone of their point of view, including Catholics.
https://www.ncronline.org/news/opinion/editorial-failed-leadership-us-bishops-clear?fbclid=IwAR1jVF-fo2P05reG-z1OVO1Wp1IEHMTzAs7jw-XpNs8m6vNFHBvjTt92nVQ
braddy
(3,585 posts)napi21
(45,806 posts)the church members have been ignoring the church teachings on birth control for YEARS! I went to a Catholic grade & high school, so I heard the Church teachings for 12 years! The two sons went to the local public school & attended CCD classes on Saturdays. Today they are 51 & 48 years old and both have said "What are you supposed to do, have 10 kids?" I suspect they have the same feelings as I do on abortion. They don't agree with having on, I would never have had one, but we don't have the right to force our opinion on everyone else. Pro/anti abortion rights opinion of a candidate doesn't affect my decision to vote for them or not.
You'll hear a lot of loud Bishops & strong Catholics say differently, but the majority of the Catholic population agree with me.
keithbvadu2
(40,135 posts)Freedom of religion Pence
47of74
(18,470 posts)When I went over to the Episcopal Church in 2012 one of the big reasons why was that the Bishops seemed determine to turn the Catholic church into a wing of the Republican party. I just reached my breaking point and swam the Thames that year due to the behavior of the Bishops.