News outlets reported this morning that Rome had put a stop to the publication of a statement by Archbishop Gomez as president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops where he congratulated President Biden while offering strong words in regards to where Biden and the Church disagree. The statement was published anyways, and Rome issued a friendly statement to President Biden later in the day.
After the USCCB published the statement of Archbishop Gomez, which I found fair and appropriate, Cardinal Cupich of Chicago expressed his opposition to the statement. He tweeted, “the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops issued an ill-considered statement on the day of President Biden’s inauguration. Aside from the fact that there is seemingly no precedent for doing so, the statement, critical of President Biden, came as a surprise to many bishops, who received it just hours before it was released.”
I did not find the original statement critical of President Biden. It was cordial. The statement did strongly point out where Church teaching and Biden’s policies disagree, in particular on issues of abortion, contraception, marriage, and gender. I cannot imagine what Cardinal Cupich found so reprehensible about the statement.
I would not be surprised if Cardinal Cupich used his heavy influence in Rome to cancel or delay the statement prepared by the USCCB. He has great influence in the appointing of bishops and is a regular in Vatican circles.
This open opposition furthers the scandalization of faithful Catholics.
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