The Deacon's Bench
U.S. Roman Catholic bishops are gathering at a moment of turbulence for them and the American church, as Pope Francis moves toward crafting new policies for carrying out his mission of mercy — a prospect that has conservative Catholics and some bishops in an uproar.
The assembly, which starts Monday in Baltimore, comes less than a month after Francis ended a dramatic Vatican meeting on how the church can more compassionately minister to Catholic families.
The gathering in Rome was only a prelude to a larger meeting next year that will more concretely advise Francis on church practice. Still, the open debate at the event, and the back and forth among bishops over welcoming gays and divorced Catholics who remarry, prompted stunning criticism from some U.S. bishops.
“Many of the U.S. bishops have been disoriented by what this new pope is saying and I don’t see them really as embracing the pope’s agenda,” said John Thavis, a former Rome bureau chief for Catholic News Service. “To a large degree, the U.S. bishops have lost their bearings. I think up until now, they felt Rome had their back, and what they were saying — especially politically — would eventually be supported in Rome. They can’t count on that now.”
Bishop Thomas Tobin of Providence, R.I., said the debate and vote on a document summing up the discussion in Rome, which laid bare divisions among church leaders, struck him as “rather Protestant.” Tobin referenced a remark Francis made to young Catholics last year that they shake up the church and make a “mess” in their dioceses.
“Pope Francis is fond of ‘creating a mess.’ Mission accomplished,” Tobin wrote.
Other American bishops said the meeting sowed confusion about church teaching, although several blamed the way information was released from the Vatican or reported.
“I think confusion is of the devil. I think the public image that came across was confusion,” said Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia. Next year, Chaput will host the pontiff on his first U.S. visit for the World Meeting of Families.
Francis is pressing U.S. bishops to make what for many prelates is a wrenching turnaround: The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and individual church leaders have dedicated increasing resources over the years to the hot-button social issues the pontiff says should no longer be the focus. The bishops say they’ve been forced to emphasize these issues because of the growing acceptance of gay relationships and what they see as animosity toward Christians in America.
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