Donald Trump’s shadow loomed over the US bishops’ meeting in Baltimore. Despite their efforts to find unity among themselves, the fears of many Catholic immigrants were also great. Unfortunately, for some bishops, including the conference president, Archbishop Timothy Broglio, the coming storm did not seem too alarming.

Broglio, in his presidential speech, committed to He said the church “will certainly take care of those who come to this country and represent the face of Christ that they need.” He later said that the bishops “are certainly not encouraging illegal immigration, but we must all stand before the throne of grace and hear the Lord ask us whether we have seen him hungry, thirsty, naked, homeless, alien or sick.” (cf. Matthew 25:31ff) and responded to their needs.”

Historically, Catholic leaders have referred to immigrants without proper documentation as “undocumented,” not “illegal.” To be fair, when Broglio used the adjective “illegal,” he was referring to the phenomenon, not a person.

Of course, the Catholic Church is not in favor of lawlessness. Well, didn’t Broglio talk about the desperation of those stranded on the other side of the border? How will we, as the richest country in the world, take care of them? People fleeing some of the poorest and most violent nations in the world? Why don’t you point out that our laws allow people to seek asylum at our borders?

Broglio could remind Catholics that our church is the church of immigrants in a country of immigrants. could mention Bishop Evelio Menjivar-AyalaWashington’s aide who came to this country “illegally” and crossed the border in the trunk of a smuggler’s car. He is now a bishop in the nation’s capital. Menjivar could bring a truly human face to the story of contemporary migration.

When the Obama administration refused to create religious exemptions in 2012 from its mandate that all insurance policies cover birth control. Broglio wrote: “We cannot and will not comply with this unjust law.” I also agree with this stance. So are the country’s immigration laws any less unfair than the birth control mandate? Where and when did Broglio lose his spine?

Bishops (all bishops) need to think more proactively. We can all hope that Trump will now follow through on his promise of mass deportation, like the promise he made in his first term to “build the wall.” He built a wall a few kilometers long and saluted. Maybe he’ll deport a few criminals and one day he’ll get it over with. Maybe not.

Bishops must now consider how to build guardrails, talk with lawyers about their legal options, and talk with sympathetic state and local law enforcement officials about ways they can disobey any legal and/or morally questionable orders Trump might issue. Guardrails are of no use once the vehicle leaves the road.

The climate may also suffer irreparable damage over the next four years. The bishops heard a presentation by Maronite Bishop A. Elias Zaidan, who chairs the International Committee for Justice and Peace. It was drier than toast and the beginning of a table discussion in the room around the wrong questions.

For example, the first question was: “What are your best ideas for how your diocese can celebrate the 10th anniversary of Laudato Si?” It should have been: “What have you done as a diocesan bishop to practice Laudato Si’?” Only the third question was spot on: “How can these initiatives help advance the mission directive of evangelizing disengaged and disaffected youth?”

The whole exercise seemed designed for futility, which may have been the point.

Bishop Daniel Flores of Brownsville, Texas, gave an excellent presentation on the fruits of the synod, and here we find one of the bright spots of the week. Not only has Flores assumed leadership in the bishops’ conference’s synodal process, he may also be the most respected bishop in the conference.

After concluding, San Diego Cardinal Robert McElroy called for the creation of a task force to help the conference implement synodality. Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich then asked if it would be helpful to get an idea of ​​the size of the offering.

A voice vote followed, and only a few bishops said no in a low voice. Ayes had it too. This is your offer appeared for the first time in an interview Neither cardinal will die on the vine, according to NCR Vatican correspondent Christopher White.

We don’t know what happened while the bishops were discussing cuts at the Justice, Peace and Human Development secretariat during executive session. Bishop Timothy Senior, chairman of the subcommittee of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. spoke to the bodyYou would think nothing was wrong except reduced grants.

he didn’t take up the offer Bill by Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City, Kansas, and Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois, directing funds raised by the campaign to Catholic school scholarships. Presumably the proposal died in executive session in an effort to crush the Catholic Campaign for Human Development. June meeting did.

But these staff cuts raised a deeper problem: trust between the conference leadership and the board of bishops. Is this resolved? We don’t know.

The bishops’ consensus choice was clear in votes For the committee chairs and the new treasurer of the conference. One necessary step in overcoming divisions is to isolate extremes, and the bishops did just that.

The polarization of culture has seeped into the church, but many of Baltimore’s bishops are looking for ways to prevent the spread of cancer. The internal culture of the bishop’s conference works differently than social media algorithms. Social media rewards anger and extremism, but there is a deep desire at the conference to seek peaceful solutions to problems.

Bishops don’t react to throwing flames. They respond best to proposals that aim to improve divisions, not worsen them. Cognizant of their differences in perspective, consensus remains the coin of the realm.

Next year the bishops will elect a new president of their conference. The current vice president, Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore, was barred from ascending to the top spot because of his age. Bishops need to consider who will advance their efforts to find common ground within their ranks. The steps they’ve taken this week in Baltimore have been good so far. They still have a long way to go.