All posts tagged: USCCB

US bishops signal closer ties to Pope Leo — while nudging Trump on immigration

US bishops signal closer ties to Pope Leo — while nudging Trump on immigration

Published by Sam Flores

(RNS) — In agenda-setting speeches for the beginning of their terms as leaders of the U.S. Catholic Church on Wednesday (June 10), Oklahoma City Archbishop Paul Coakley, the new president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and Archbishop Gabriele Giordano Caccia, Pope Leo XIV’s new diplomatic representative in the U.S., emphasized their unity with the pope and each other as they tackled some of the church’s most pressing problems. During Pope Francis’ pontificate, the conference did not always appear to prioritize his keystone initiatives, particularly around environmental teaching and dialogue known as synodality. As church observers watched closely to see what kind of posture the new U.S. leaders might take toward Leo’s papacy, Coakley’s repeated citations of the first U.S.-born pope and references to his teachings may be signaling a closer relationship between the Vatican and U.S. church, though the meeting’s public agenda does not include any sessions dedicated to artificial intelligence or Leo’s first encyclical, “Magnifica Humanitas.” “ Today, in an age of constant flux, of forced migration, polarization, disruptions, climatic and economic upheavals, …

What is and isn’t new about US bishops’ criticism of Trump’s foreign policy

What is and isn’t new about US bishops’ criticism of Trump’s foreign policy

Published by Sam Flores

(The Conversation) — In recent weeks, Catholic leaders have been increasingly outspoken in their criticism of the Trump administration’s foreign policy, especially its military intervention in Venezuela and saber-rattling over Greenland. On Jan. 19, 2026, the three cardinals heading U.S. archdioceses — Blase Cupich of Chicago, Robert McElroy of Washington, D.C., and Joseph Tobin of Newark — issued a rare joint statement. “The United States has entered into the most profound and searing debate about the moral foundation for America’s actions in the world since the end of the Cold War,” they began, calling for “a genuinely moral foreign policy.” The cardinals quoted Pope Leo XIV’s annual address to the Vatican’s diplomatic corps, delivered earlier that month, in which he deplored that “a zeal for war is spreading,” and the norm governing the use of force “has been completely undermined.” In follow-up interviews, Cupich criticized the U.S. operation to capture President Nicolás Maduro for sending a message that “might makes right.” Tobin noted that some members of the Trump administration seemed to be advancing “almost …

The anti-life administration

The anti-life administration

Published by Sam Flores

(RNS) — Hours before federal agents in Minneapolis killed a second U.S. citizen, President Donald Trump addressed the 2026 March for Life via video on Friday (Jan. 23), congratulating those who came to Washington “to defend the infinite worth and God-given dignity of every human life.” Citing the Declaration of Independence, which asserted citizens’ individual freedoms, he thanked the marchers for defending the unborn and claimed responsibility for “unprecedented strides to protect innocent life and support the institution of the family.” As they do each year, thousands of pro-life groups and individuals marched past the U.S. Capitol, where just five years earlier masked protesters attacked federal officers and threatened lawmakers. Now, Minneapolis is in chaos, ridden by 3,000 armed, masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, some of whom reportedly received minimal training before being issued weapons. Are pardoned Jan. 6 rioters among those new ICE agents? Watching video footage of one group recalls the other. The cognitive dissonance between what the current administration says and what it does roils the airwaves and frightens the citizenry. …

US Catholic bishops navigate political strategy in Trump era

US Catholic bishops navigate political strategy in Trump era

Published by Sam Flores

(RNS) — One week after Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, posed for a smiling photo standing next to a seated President Donald Trump in the Oval Office, three U.S. cardinals leading archdioceses released a statement criticizing Trump’s foreign policy. These two contrasting scenes could appear to paint a USCCB at odds over how to approach Trump — who has this month escalated an aggressive foreign policy in capturing Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and demanding the U.S. acquire Greenland, and has defended increasingly violent domestic immigration enforcement at home. But some experts and bishops told RNS that dialogue and public criticism can be complementary strategies. The bishops’ conference has not disclosed the contents of the meeting between Trump and Coakley, an ecclesiastical adviser to the conservative Napa Institute, whose co-founder called the Trump administration “the most Christian” he’d ever seen. Two days after the meeting, the administration proposed a change to a visa requirement that forced foreign priests and other religious workers to exit the U.S. for …

How to be an extraordinary Christian during Ordinary Time

How to be an extraordinary Christian during Ordinary Time

Published by Sam Flores

(RNS) — With Christmas season over, Christians move into what the church refers to as “Ordinary Time.” This is the time outside of Christmas season, Lent and Easter season. “Ordinary” in English means “routine, usual, common.” In other words, nothing special. But the name “Ordinary Time” originally comes from the fact that the weeks are numbered using ordinal numbers — like first, second or third. For example, last Sunday was the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time. This year, there are six Ordinary Sundays before we reach Lent. We then do not return to Ordinary Time until after Pentecost; Ordinary Time then continues until Advent, for a total of 34 weeks in Ordinary Time this year. But there is no reason that Ordinary Time must be ordinary. It can be special if we use it to deepen our experience of the Scriptures and prayer. Catholics should be embarrassed by how little they read the Scriptures. According to Pew Research Center, only 12% of Catholics read the Scriptures at least once a week, compared with 52% of evangelical …

USCCB President Paul Coakley meets with Trump, Vance at White House

USCCB President Paul Coakley meets with Trump, Vance at White House

Published by Sam Flores

(RNS) — Archbishop Paul Coakley, the recently elected president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, met with President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and other officials at the White House on Monday (Jan. 12). It marks the first time a U.S. president has met with the president of the bishops’ conference in nearly a decade.  According to a statement from Chieko Noguchi, a spokesperson for the bishops’ conference, Coakley, Trump and other leaders “discussed areas of mutual concern, as well as areas for further dialogue” at the meeting.  “Archbishop Coakley is grateful for the engagement and looks forward to ongoing discussions,” Noguchi wrote. As the ecclesiastical adviser for the Napa Institute, Coakley, who is archbishop of Oklahoma City, has ties to several prominent conservative Catholics. The institute’s co-founder, Tim Busch, wrote in March that “Donald Trump’s administration is the most Christian I’ve ever seen” and praised many Catholics who surround the president, noting he’d met and worked with many of Trump’s senior staff. At the November bishops’ meeting where Coakley was elected, …