Originally published at National Catholic Register
With the dust still settling from both the U.S. presidential election and the universal Catholic Church’s Synod on Synodality, the U.S. bishops’ just-concluded Nov. 11-14 assembly in Baltimore came at a critical juncture for both the Church and the nation.
And while the bishops addressed several important matters of business, such as the conference’s budget, a new translation of the New American Bible, and the causes of canonization of two American women, several other moves offered important symbolic indicators of where the conference currently stands in relation to both Pope Francis and President-elect Donald Trump.
Here are four important takeaways from the bishops’ most recent gathering in “America’s Premier See.”
1. The bishops are ready for a second Trump administration.
When Donald Trump was elected to his first presidential term in 2016, it shocked the world, the USCCB included.
This time around, the bishops seem prepared for both the opportunities and the challenges that a Trump presidency represents.
On multiple occasions during the bishops’ two days of public meetings they spoke candidly and with measured pointedness against the possibility of mass deportations of undocumented immigrants.
First, USCCB president Archbishop Timothy Broglio received rousing applause during his opening address when, after
