The Catholic Bishops’ Selective Advocacy: A Franciscan Call for Consistent Moral Witness.
As a Franciscan, As a Catholic, As a US Citizen, I am compelled to speak truth to power with clarity and courage, even when it unsettles me. The U.S. Catholic bishops’ alignment with the Republican Party—prioritizing partisan agendas over the fullness of Catholic social teaching—demands scrutiny. Their selective advocacy risks reducing the Church’s prophetic voice to a political tool, abandoning the marginalized in favor of power.
The Fortnight for Freedom and Racialized Hypocrisy
From 2012 to 2018, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) organized the Fortnight for Freedom, a campaign decrying threats to religious liberty under President Obama, particularly the Affordable Care Act’s contraception mandate. Yet, when the Trump administration slashed refugee admissions, separated families at the border, and gutted environmental protections, the bishops’ urgency vanished. The campaign dissolved in 2018, replaced by a muted “Religious Freedom Week.” This timing raises grave questions: Was the bishops’ fervor less about principle and more about opposing a Black Democratic president?
Black Catholic leaders have long challenged this hypocrisy. Fr. Bryan Massingale, a theologian and priest, critiques the Church’s “selective indignation,” noting its silence on systemic racism, poverty, and state violence disproportionately harming Black communities. While bishops rallied against contraception mandates, they offered no sustained outcry as Republican policies denied clean water to Flint’s Black residents, dismantled healthcare for the poor, or accelerated executions under Trump’s Attorney General William Barr—a man the bishops honored despite his defiance of Church teaching on the death penalty.
The Barr-Barron Nexus: Power Over Principle
In 2020, the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast (NCPB)—a gathering criticized for its ties to Republican elites—awarded William Barr the Christifideles Laici Award, even as he reinstated federal executions after a 17-year hiatus. Bishop Robert Barron, a prominent media figure, headlined the event. Barr, who oversaw the executions of 13 federal prisoners, received praise for his “public service,” while bishops ignored his violation of the Church’s clear teaching: “The death penalty is inadmissible” (Pope Francis, Fratelli Tutti, 2020).
This decision sparked outrage. The Catholic Mobilizing Network and Association of U.S. Catholic Priests condemned the award, calling it a “grave scandal” that undermined the Church’s pro-life stance. Yet Bishop Barron and the NCPB doubled down, reflecting a pattern: the bishops’ alignment with Republican power brokers often trumps moral consistency.
Cardinal Dolan and Republican Politics: A Case Study in Selective Engagement
Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York and a prominent figure in the U.S. Catholic hierarchy, exemplifies the bishops’ fraught dance with partisan politics. While he has occasionally criticized Republican policies, his public persona and alliances often align more closely with conservative agendas, raising questions about the consistency of his moral witness.
Public Embraces and Political Theater
Dolan’s visibility in Republican circles is striking. In 2012, he delivered the closing benediction at the Republican National Convention (RNC), sharing a stage with Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan—the latter a Catholic whose budget proposals slashed anti-poverty programs, drawing sharp rebukes from the USCCB for failing “to meet moral criteria” (America Magazine, 2012). Dolan later prayed at both the 2012 RNC and the Democratic National Convention, framing it as “apolitical,” yet his warmth toward Republican leaders has been notable. In 2016, he hosted a controversial “heroes’ welcome” for Donald Trump at St. Patrick’s Cathedral after the Access Hollywood tape scandal, a move critics called a “moral failure” that normalized misogyny and abuse (National Catholic Reporter, 2016).
Policy Alignments and Silences
- Affordable Care Act (ACA) Contraception Mandate:
Dolan spearheaded the bishops’ opposition to the ACA’s contraception coverage requirement, framing it as a religious liberty issue. While the mandate raised legitimate concerns, Dolan’s rhetoric echoed Republican talking points, and he declined to celebrate the ACA’s expansion of healthcare to millions of low-income families. This mirrored the GOP’s prioritization of culture-war issues over systemic care for the vulnerable (USCCB, 2012). - Immigration and Border Policies:
Dolan has spoken compassionately about immigrants, calling for “humane reform.” Yet his criticism of Trump’s family separation policy was muted compared to his vocal campaigns against abortion and LGBTQ+ rights. When New York expanded protections for undocumented immigrants in 2023, Dolan warned against “lawlessness,” echoing conservative rhetoric that conflates immigration with crime (Crux, 2023). - Economic Justice:
While Pope Francis condemns “economies that kill,” Dolan’s tenure has seen minimal emphasis on workers’ rights or wealth inequality. In 2020, he opposed New York’s proposed tax hikes on the ultra-wealthy to fund homeless services, citing fears of “driving out the affluent”—a stance at odds with Catholic teaching on distributive justice (National Catholic Reporter, 2020).
A Pattern of Partisan Silence
The bishops’ selective advocacy extends beyond individual figures:
- Environmental Justice: While Pope Francis’ Laudato Si’ calls for “drastic action” to protect creation, the USCCB stayed silent as Trump withdrew from the Paris Accord and gutted the Clean Water Act, directly harming poor communities. In Flint, Michigan—where lead-poisoned water disproportionately affected Black Catholics—the bishops offered prayers but no national campaign for justice.
- Healthcare and Poverty: Catholic teaching declares healthcare a human right. Yet when Republicans slashed Medicaid, defended for-profit systems, and rejected living wage laws, the bishops’ response was tepid. Contrast this with their vigorous opposition to the ACA’s contraception mandate—a focus that Fr. Massingale argues “elevates pelvic issues over poverty.”
- School Choice: Trading Justice for Vouchers
The bishops’ advocacy for school choice—framed as “empowering parents”—often aligns with Republican efforts to divert public funds to private (including Catholic) schools via vouchers. While Catholic teaching supports parental rights (Gravissimum Educationis), the bishops ignore the collateral damage:- Defunding Public Schools: Voucher programs drain taxpayer dollars from public systems that serve 90% of students, including marginalized communities. In Arizona and Florida, school choice expansions have worsened teacher shortages and underfunded rural districts (Chalkbeat, 2023).
- Exclusionary Practices: Many voucher-funded private schools reject students with disabilities, LGBTQ+ youth, or non-Catholics, perpetuating inequality. In Indiana, 70% of 2023 voucher recipients never attended public schools, subsidizing affluent families already in private education (Chalkbeat, 2023).
- Moral Contradiction: To secure vouchers, the bishops tolerate Republican agendas that slash anti-poverty programs, healthcare, and workers’ rights. This transactional approach—sacrificing systemic justice for institutional gain—betrays the poor they claim to uplift.
- Death Penalty and Criminal Justice: Despite Pope Francis’ abolitionist stance, the USCCB has never mobilized a Fortnight campaign against capital punishment. Barr’s executions proceeded without meaningful episcopal resistance, even as Catholic prosecutors like Philadelphia’s Larry Krasner faced impeachment for defending life sentences over death.
The Franciscan Imperative: Reclaiming the Church’s Prophetic Voice
St. Francis rejected wealth and power to stand with the marginalized. Today, the bishops risk becoming the very “power” he confronted. Their alignment with a party that enacts policies harming the poor, immigrants, and the Earth betrays the Gospel’s radical call.
To reclaim moral credibility, the Church must:
- Condemn All Threats to Life—from abortion to executions, poverty to pollution.
- Reject Partisan Alliances that prioritize power over the common good.
- Defend Public Goods, including fully funded public schools, rather than privatizing education for sectarian gain.
- Amplify Marginalized Voices, including Black Catholics like Fr. Massingale, who challenge the Church’s complicity in systemic injustice.
Pope Francis’ Vision for the Church—A Radical Call to Conversion
Pope Francis envisions a Church that is “bruised, hurting, and dirty because it has been out on the streets” (Evangelii Gaudium, 2013), not one entangled in partisan alliances or institutional self-interest. His papacy has been a clarion call to reject clericalism, embrace the marginalized, and embody a consistent ethic of life that challenges all systems of exploitation and exclusion.
1. A Church of the Poor, for the Poor
Francis insists that the Church must prioritize the “peripheries,” condemning an economy that “kills” and discards the vulnerable (Evangelii Gaudium). He decries the “globalization of indifference” to refugees, the hungry, and the homeless—a rebuke to bishops who remain silent as Republican policies gut social safety nets or criminalize migrants. His vision directly contradicts the U.S. bishops’ transactional support for school vouchers that defund public education, asking instead: “How can we proclaim the Gospel if we are complicit in systems that abandon the poor?”
2. Integral Ecology: Rejecting Exploitation
In Laudato Si’ (2015), Francis demands “drastic action” to protect creation, linking environmental degradation to the “throwaway culture” of greed and consumerism. He condemns the poisoning of Flint’s water, the plunder of Indigenous lands, and policies that prioritize corporate profits over clean air and water. The U.S. bishops’ silence as Republican leaders dismantle environmental protections betrays this vision, trading the cry of the Earth and the poor for political convenience.
3. A Consistent Ethic of Life
Francis expands the Church’s pro-life witness beyond abortion to include opposition to the death penalty, nuclear weapons, poverty, and racism (Fratelli Tutti, 2020). He calls the death penalty “inadmissible” and urges Catholics to “see the faces” of those society discards. This directly challenges bishops who honor figures like William Barr, who reinstated federal executions, or who prioritize anti-abortion campaigns while ignoring Medicaid cuts that sentence the poor to preventable deaths.
4. Synodality: A Church That Listens
Francis’ synodal process demands a Church that “listens to the people of God,” including women, LGBTQ+ Catholics, and communities of color. This contrasts sharply with bishops who dismiss Black Catholics like Fr. Bryan Massingale when they critique systemic racism, or who host “LGBT Masses” while opposing civil rights for LGBTQ+ persons. Francis warns: “A Church that does not listen is a Church that cannot lead.”
5. Rejecting Clericalism and Partisan Idolatry
Francis condemns clericalism as a “perversion” of the Gospel, urging bishops to shed the trappings of power and privilege. He warns against alliances with political leaders who “instrumentalize the Church” for their agendas (Address to the U.S. Bishops, 2015). Cardinal Dolan’s embrace of Trump and Bishop Barron’s defense of Barr exemplify the very clericalism Francis decries—a willingness to court power rather than confront it.
Conclusion: The Choice Before the Bishops
Pope Francis’ vision is not a vague ideal—it is a mandate. He calls the Church to be a “field hospital” that heals wounds, not a fortress that protects its own interests. The U.S. bishops stand at a crossroads: Will they continue to align with a party that enacts policies antithetical to Catholic teaching, or will they embody Francis’ radical Gospel witness?
To follow Francis is to reject the GOP’s “Disaster Capitalism,” defend public goods like healthcare and education, and stand unambiguously with immigrants, workers, and the planet. It is to recognize that there can be no communion with Christ without communion with the least.
As Franciscans, we close with the words of St. Francis himself: “Preach the Gospel at all times. Use words if necessary.” The bishops’ actions—not their alliances—will determine whether the Church remains a beacon of hope or a monument to compromise.
Sources
- America Magazine. (2012). “Cardinal Dolan and the GOP: A Complicated Relationship.”
- National Catholic Reporter. (2016). “Cardinal Dolan’s Legacy: A Mixed Record on Abuse, Outreach, and Politics.”
- Crux. (2023). “Dolan’s Balancing Act: Political Engagement and Catholic Teaching.”
- USCCB. (2012). Fortnight for Freedom Archives.
- Chalkbeat. (2023). “Indiana’s $240M Voucher Program Mostly Benefits Students Who Never Attended Public Schools.”
- Pope Francis. (2013). Evangelii Gaudium.
- Pope Francis. (2015). Laudato Si’.
- Pope Francis. (2020). Fratelli Tutti.
- Pope Francis. (2015). Address to U.S. Bishops.
- Fr. Bryan Massingale. (2010). Racial Justice and the Catholic Church.
In the footsteps of St. Francis and Pope Francis, let us choose the Gospel without exception.
Michael is a professed member of the Secular Franciscan Order and editor of Chasing the Wild Goose Blog. This article reflects his personal discernment and does not represent official OFS positions.
