CNA Staff, Nov 8, 2024 / 17:10 pm (CNA).
The president of the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops (USCCB) credited concern for human dignity and the economy as possible reasons why a majority of Catholics voted for the now-President-elect Donald Trump.
Archbishop Timothy Broglio, who also heads the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, on a Thursday segment of EWTN’s “The World Over with Raymond Arroyo” commented on the historic election, in which a majority of Catholics — 56% according to some exit polls — voted for Trump.
“I would think certainly our preeminent concern for the dignity of the human person is one thing that would have influenced those voters,” Broglio told Arroyo.
“I think also people are uncertain of the economy. I think that would be another factor. I think also in a very real sense, Catholics have seen what the first Trump administration did to support human life. I think maybe that would certainly be a factor that influences as well,” Broglio said.
Broglio also noted that Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign had “no space for any freedom of conscience” in regard to the abortion issue.
“Also, in a very real sense, Vice President Harris had made the right to abortion almost the central issue of the campaign,” Broglio added. “I think that would be very dissuading to many, many Catholics.”
When asked what the conference’s priorities were going into a Trump administration, Broglio said its priorities “really remain unchanged.”
“There is, of course, the concern for the dignity of the human person from the moment of conception until natural death: that remains a preeminent concern of the bishops,” Broglio said.
Broglio also highlighted “a tremendous concern” for the poor and the homeless in the nation.
“We are a very fortunate nation, and we have many, many advantages. Yet sometimes in our large cities, we see tremendous numbers of homeless,” Broglio said. “We know there are other people who have difficulty making ends meet at the end of each month. We want to be mindful to follow them and to try and help them, certainly through charitable outreach, but also through perhaps trying to find solutions to the root problems that keep people in poverty.”
Migration is also a key issue for Broglio and the U.S. bishops — both at the border itself and issues abroad.
“A third concern would be trying to reform the migration policy or the law of migration in this country so that migration can be orderly, that it be legal, and that some of the unrest that we’ve experienced at the border can be resolved,” Broglio continued.
Coupled with this concern is “the role the United States plays internationally,” the archbishop said.
“We should be able to try and address some of the issues that force people to consider leaving their homelands to go elsewhere,” Broglio said. “If we could help resolve some of those problems and questions that might be another way from the outside to lessen the tension at the borders.”
When asked about Trump’s support for an in vitro fertilization (IVF) mandate, Broglio emphasized that such reproductive technology is contrary to Church teaching.
“We’ll try to continue to reiterate what the Church teaches — that the unborn child in the womb has a right to live, has a right to be born, and that conception should be the result of the natural union between husband and wife — and so IVF really isn’t a solution,” Broglio said.
Trump earlier this year proposed that the government pay for IVF services. He has also walked back his pro-life stance, promising to veto nationwide protection for unborn children.
In a previous interview with Arroyo in October, Trump expressed his openness to religious exemptions for an IVF mandate, saying: “It sounds to me like a pretty good idea.”
“We’ll try to continue to present that teaching in the hopes that we’ll find some receptive ears in the new administration,” Broglio said.
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Archbishop Broglio: Please don’t tell us Catholics what’s key to Catholic support. Stay in your own lane. You don’t get to speak for Catholics in the arena of politics. Morals, yes, but not politics.
An intricate path to follow, both proclaiming faith and morals and without the Church having solutions which in the secular realm are so often matters of prudential judgment. Two sources on moral evil and moral absolutes:
VATICAN II: “Furthermore, whatever is opposed to life itself, such as any type of murder, genocide, abortion, euthanasia, or willful self-destruction, whatever violates the integrity of the human person, such as mutilation, torments inflicted on body or mind, attempts to coerce the will itself; whatever insults human dignity, such as subhuman living conditions, arbitrary imprisonment, deportation, slavery, prostitution, the selling of women and children; as well as disgraced working conditions, where men are treated as mere tools for profit, rather than as free and responsible persons; all these things and others of their like are infamies indeed. They poison human society, but they do more harm to those who practice them than those who suffer from the injury. Moreover, they are a supreme dishonor to the Creator” (Gauadium et Spes, n. 27).
The CATECHISM: The Catechism and the Magisterium (nn. 2033-5) identify intrinsically evil acts which are immoral under all circumstances and non-negotiable. These include: intentional killing of the innocent (n. 2273), infanticide (n. 2268), abortion (n. 2273), euthanasia (n. 2277); and sexual immorality (nn. 2352, 2353, 2356, 2357, 2370, 2380, 2381).
The SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL: “Furthermore, whatever is opposed to life itself, such as any type of murder, genocide, abortion, euthanasia, or willful self-destruction, whatever violates the integrity of the human person, such as mutilation, torments inflicted on body or mind, attempts to coerce the will itself; whatever insults human dignity, such as subhuman living conditions, arbitrary imprisonment, deportation, slavery, prostitution, the selling of women and children; as well as disgraced working conditions, where men are treated as mere tools for profit, rather than as free and responsible persons; all these things and others of their like are infamies indeed. They poison human society, but they do more harm to those who practice them than those who suffer from the injury. Moreover, they are a supreme dishonor to the Creator” (n. 27).
ONE POSSIBLE READING of Archbishop Broglio’s comments is that while he does identify moral issues (and possible voter influences), as you would have it, he also is at least careful to not presume concrete solutions, as also you seem to have it. For example, what might a functional and bipartisan immigration policy under rule of law actually look like? And, surely, there are approaches other than the statist federal budgets and the crushing national debt for ameliorating systemic problems in “the economy.” The Catholic Social Teaching upholds solidarity and subsidiarity, both.
But we can agree, the lane striping is a bit worn.
Archbishop Broglio, recognizes that respect for the Sanctity of the marital act within The Sacrament of Holy Matrimony, and respect for the Sanctity of all human life from the moment of conception to natural death, are human rights issues, not political issues. Christ’s teaching on the inherent Dignity of the human person as a beloved son or daughter, from the moment of conception, is grounded in the Truth about the essence of the human person, who is Willed by God, The Ordered Communion Of Perfect Love, The Most Holy And Undivided Blessed Trinity, worthy of Redemption.
At the heart of Liberty Is Christ, “4For it is impossible for those who were once illuminated, have tasted also the heavenly gift and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, 5Have moreover tasted the good word of God and the powers of the world to come…”, to not believe that Christ’s Sacrifice On The Cross will lead us to Salvation, but we must desire forgiveness for our sins, and accept Salvational Love, God’s Gift Of Grace And Mercy; believe in The Power And The Glory Of Salvation Love, and rejoice in the fact that No Greater Love Is There Than This, To Desire Salvation For One’s Beloved. “Hail The Cross, Our Only Hope.”
“Blessed are they who are Called to The Marriage Supper Of The Lamb.”
“For where your treasure is there will your heart be also.”
Thank you, Archbishop Broglio for serving Our Lord, Jesus The Christ, and in serving Christ, serving the Good of all human persons 🙏💕🌹
Oh, please, Tom. The man is simply speculating about why Catholics voted a certain way.
What’s astonishing to me is that something like 44 percent of Catholics continued to vote for the death cult that is the Democratic Party.
What, one third of America’s children for the past half century murdered by dismemberment, by having their skin seared off, their brain stems punctured — those aren’t enough for you Democratic Catholics?
You want to see *all* of the babies butchered?
So, Tom, don’t criticize the clerics who speak out and defend our children from the death cult that is the Democratic Party.
Better that you criticize — and roundly — the ones who say nothing.
Our challenge as a Church is to seize the golden opportunity to revitalize Catholicism since this, the first time in recent history, a majority of Catholics voted in favor of the lesser evil, and at least the prospect of reshaping the moral consciousness of Catholics on abortion as well as disordered sexuality. Men impersonating women invading women’s locker rooms and bathrooms, playing fields. With knowledge that the Trump administration is likely to curtain these culturally destructing trends Catholics, as well as the Nation as a whole have essentially called for a halt in their vote.
Insofar as moral absolutes the definitive assessment of what complies in existential scenarios is a complex one. Although continued and unwavering pronunciation by prelates can have significant outcomes. Part of our challenge is the appointment by Pope Francis of US cardinals Tobin, McElroy, Cupich et Al who will weaken a universal clergy response. Perhaps our real hope lies in a new pontiff, a surprise traditional cardinal similar [analogically] to our political election.
John 12:5-6 – “Why wasn’t this perfume sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?” Judas did not say this because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief. As keeper of the money bag, he used to take from what was put into it.
Francis has used Peter’s Pence to pay for administrative expense. The USCCB states the purpose of Peter’s Pence: “emergency assistance to those who are suffering as a result of war, oppression, natural disaster, and disease.” Such undermining of Church teaching and such double speak makes skeptics of many. Then we wonder why the typical American Catholic majority does NOT respect the dignity of human life in the womb and does NOT believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist.
What evidentiary support can Abp. Broglio offer to suggest that 56% of American Catholics voted for Trump because of his pro-life position?
We may question Pew’s research results and methodology; nevertheless, Pew reports that in 2019, 56% of all American Catholics believed abortion should be legal in all or most cases. http://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2020/10/20/8-key-findings-about-catholics-and-abortion. In 2022, the percentage remained the same.
http://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2022/05/23/like-americans-overall-catholics-vary-in-their-abortion-views-with-regular-mass-attenders-most-opposed/