{"id":213933,"date":"2019-11-14T20:51:07","date_gmt":"2019-11-15T02:51:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=213933"},"modified":"2019-11-14T17:26:46","modified_gmt":"2019-11-14T23:26:46","slug":"1-in-3-bishops-downplay-abortion-pope-francis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/1-in-3-bishops-downplay-abortion-pope-francis\/","title":{"rendered":"1 in 3 US bishops at fall meeting vote to downplay abortion by citing Pope Francis"},"content":{"rendered":"
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(Life Site News<\/a>) American Catholic bishops showed today that the current pontificate has divided them on fighting abortion as a social justice priority. They voted 143-69 against\u00a0including a full quote by Pope Francis in their document on\u00a0citizenship that downplayed the issue\u00a0and which\u00a0one bishop argued was necessary to keep the bishops’ priorities in line with the Pope’s.<\/p>\n

This morning during the Fall General Assembly of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), the bishops debated, and voted upon, a letter based on the USCCB\u2019s document<\/a> on political life, \u201cForming Consciences for Faithful Citizens.\u201d<\/p>\n

The letter\u2019s insistence that the slaughter of the unborn remains the “pre-eminent” social justice priority for the USCCB came up during the debate. Bishop Robert W. McElroy of San Diego objected, saying, \u201cIt is not Catholic teaching that abortion is the pre-eminent issue that we face as the world in Catholic social teaching. It is not.\u201d<\/p>\n

McElroy<\/a> also said he believes that saying the threat of abortion remains the USCCB\u2019s \u201cpre-eminent priority\u201d is \u201cat least discordant with the pope\u2019s teaching if not inconsistent\u201d and that it is a \u201cgrave disservice to our people if we\u2019re trying to communicate to them what the Magisterium teaches.\u201d<\/p>\n

READ:\u00a0Supreme Court rejects abortion facility\u2019s \u2018fishing expedition\u2019 against Texas bishops<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The bishop of San Diego was contradicted by Bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler, Texas and Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Philadelphia. Strickland stated that the word \u201cpre-eminent\u201d must remain in the letter, and Chaput underscored that abortion is indeed the most important social issue of our time.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am against anyone stating that our saying it\u2019s \u2018pre-eminent\u2019 is contrary to the teaching of a pope because that isn\u2019t true,\u201d Chaput said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt sets up an artificial battle between the Bishops\u2019 Conference of the United States and the Holy Father which isn\u2019t true,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo I don\u2019t like the argument Bishop McElroy uses. It isn\u2019t true, you know. We support the Holy Father completely. What he says is true. But I think it has been the very clearly articulated opinion of the bishops\u2019 conference for many years that pro-life is still the pre-eminent issue. It doesn\u2019t mean the others aren\u2019t equal in dignity.\u201d<\/p>\n

The bishops applauded Archbishop Chaput\u2019s intervention.<\/p>\n

The debate began when Cardinal Blase J. Cupich of Chicago asked (see video below at 49:25) for an amendment to the short letter that would include the entire paragraph 101 from Pope Francis\u2019s controversial 2018 apostolic exhortation \u201cGaudete et Exsultate<\/i><\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n