The US bishops have broken with tradition in a surprise vote for the leadership of their pro-life committee, with Archbishop Joseph Naumann gaining a narrow margin over Cardinal Blase Cupich.
The committee has been led by a cardinal since the mid-1980s, and the rejection of Cardinal Cupich will be seen as marking the bishops’ emphasis on abortion over other political issues, as well a degree of scepticism about Pope Francis’s approach.
The cardinal has been twice promoted by Pope Francis: to Archbishop of Chicago, and then to the College of Cardinals. He has also been appointed to the influential Congregation for Bishops.
However, the US bishops voted by a margin of 96 to 82 for the other candidate, Archbishop Naumann.
The vote had attracted more attention than any other at the bishops’ general assembly. Cardinal Cupich is seen as a “Pope Francis bishop”, and has placed abortion at the same level as other social issues, writing: “We should be no less appalled by the indifference toward the thousands of people who die daily for lack of decent medical care; who are denied rights by a broken immigration system and by racism; who suffer in hunger, joblessness and want; who pay the price of violence in gun-saturated neighbourhoods; or who are executed by the state in the name of justice.”
Archbishop Joseph Naumann, by contrast, has argued that “issues that involve intrinsic evils – direct attacks on human life, abortion, euthanasia, embryonic stem cell research, or direct attacks on the institution of the family (for example, a redefinition of marriage to equate with same-sex unions or cohabitation) – must assume a moral priority. While all issues are important, all are not equally important from a moral analysis.”
Some observers, such as Christopher white of Crux, had framed the Cupich-Naumann vote in advance as a “referendum on both the conference’s approach to pro-life policies and Pope Francis”.
However, the editor of the Catholic News Agency, JD Flynn, tweeted after the vote: “CNA has talked with bishops who emphasise this is not a referendum on Francis. Bishops voting for both candidates told me it was only about trying to discern the best fit.”
Areas of Catholic Herald business are still recovering post-pandemic.
However, we are reaching out to the Catholic community and readership, that has been so loyal to the Catholic Herald. Please join us on our 135 year mission by supporting us.
We are raising £250,000 to safeguard the Herald as a world-leading voice in Catholic journalism and teaching.
We have been a bold and influential voice in the church since 1888, standing up for traditional Catholic culture and values. Please consider donating.