CFC Responds to the Election of Timothy Broglio, William Lori as President, V.P. of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, November 15, 2022
Contact: John Becker, Press Secretary
Phone: 202-203-0931
Email: jbecker@catholicsforchoice.org
Timothy Broglio, William Lori Elected President, V.P. of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
Catholics for Choice: “It is clear that a middle-management problem exists among U.S. bishops… in direct and belligerent defiance of a pope who is moving the church in an opposite, more inclusive direction.”
WASHINGTON — Catholics for Choice, which uplifts and amplifies the voices of the majority of Catholics who believe in reproductive freedom, responded to the leadership elections of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) in Baltimore today.
On newly-elected USCCB President Abp. Timothy Broglio, Catholics for Choice President Jamie L. Manson, M.Div. issued the following statement:
“Archbishop Timothy Broglio is a divisive pick for USCCB president. His tenure at the helm of the Archdiocese for Military Services has been characterized by culture-war grandstanding and fear-mongering on everything from abortion to marriage equality, as well as the spreading of vaccine misinformation at the height of the deadly global COVID-19 pandemic. Electing Broglio shows that the USCCB is way out of alignment with Catholics who seek to follow Pope Francis’ call for the people of God to encounter and engage with each other in good faith.”
The USCCB selected William Lori, 71, as vice president. Traditionally, bishops elected to the vice presidential position are elevated to the conference presidency in the next three-year term, provided they are under the mandatory retirement age of 75.
Manson continued:
“Baltimore Archbishop William Lori represents so much of what is wrong with Catholic leadership in the United States today: He’s served as the Vatican’s ‘fixer’ in the United States, spearheading the bishops’ assaults on abortion rights and marriage equality, writing policies that protect bishops at the expense of victims of clerical sexual assault, and serving as Supreme Chaplain for the Knights of Columbus, which has been one of the largest funders of anti-choice and anti-LGBTQ crusades all across the country. The election of Lori sends a clear message that the U.S. bishops will not back down from their persecution of pro-choice Catholics, but double down.
Added Manson:
“The U.S. bishops’ leadership elections have massive implications for the life of the church and the people it serves. But the USCCB is also the most powerful and notorious anti-choice organization in the country, so the group’s leaders also have a huge impact on U.S. politics — from economic justice to reproductive rights and LGBTQIA+ equality. It is clear that a middle-management problem exists among U.S. bishops, who have become increasingly mired in far-right partisan politics, in direct and belligerent defiance of a pope who is moving the church in an opposite, more inclusive direction. Today’s election solidifies that problem for at least the next three years.
“Nonetheless, I hope that the newly-elected Broglio and Lori will stop stigmatizing, and start listening to the people in the church who are being pushed away. Catholics for Choice and the nation’s pro-choice Catholic majority will not be deterred: we will raise our voices louder than ever before in support of Catholic social justice values, including the right to access abortion.”
Catholics for Choice shapes and advances sexual and reproductive ethics that are based on justice, reflect a commitment to a person’s well-being and respect, and affirm the capacity of all people to make moral decisions about their lives.
