Pope Francis on U.S. church divisions

Pope Francis made clear this week that he was keeping a close eye on the divisions in the U.S. church, which showed up most recently in the controversy over Archbishop Jose H. Gomez’s statement on the inauguration of President Joseph R. Biden. The statement was seen as being inappropriately confrontational by the Vatican, and stateside sparked responses both of support and opposition among other bishops.

Cardinal Blase Cupich, who said on Twitter that the statement had not followed the bishops’ conference’s protocol, met with Pope Francis on Saturday. Though it is unclear what the two men talked about, it is evident that the Vatican went out of its way to publicize the fact that the meeting happened. America’s Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell also reported on Saturday that the pope had been briefed on the back and forth over the statement.

This week on “Inside the Vatican,” Gerry and host Colleen Dulle discuss Pope Francis’ strategy for bringing the bishops together in spite of their differences. “You know its defects better than I do,” the pope said to a group of American journalists this week, but “I look at the U.S. church with hope.”

In the second part of the show, Colleen and Gerry look at Cardinal Bo’s efforts to advocate nonviolence in Myanmar following that country’s military coup this week. Colleen and Gerry also give an update on the plans for Pope Francis’ scheduled trip to Iraq next month and what his scheduled meeting with Shiite Ayatollah Al-Sistani could mean for intra-Muslim relations.

Links from the show:

Inside the Vatican | Inside the U.S. bishops’ clash with the Vatican over Joe Biden’s Inauguration

Gerard O’Connell | Pope Francis meets with Cardinal Cupich, who criticized fellow U.S. bishops for confrontational approach to Biden

Catholic News Service | Pope Francis talks Iraq trip, Catholic journalism and the church in U.S.

Gerard O’Connell | The military again seize power in Myanmar despite pleas from Cardinal Bo

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