BALTIMORE (AP) — As U.S. Catholic bishops gathered for their annual fall meeting this week in Baltimore, the specter of President-elect Donald Trump’s resounding victory hung over the proceedings.
In a letter read at the opening of their public sessions, the bishops asked Pope Francis to “pray for the people of the United States” during this post-election transition.
“We pray that the transfer of power will be peaceful, and that the incoming administration will promote the life and dignity of all people,” it read.
The Trump administration offers promise and peril for American Catholic leaders’ top policy concerns, which include abortion and immigration.
Catholic teaching prioritizes both the end of abortion and the humane care of migrants. In Trump, as for many U.S. Christians, Catholics find an imperfect standard-bearer.
His anti-abortion rhetoric has been mixed: While Trump has taken credit for the end of federal abortion rights, he has waffled on the concept of a national abortion ban and said abortion policies should be left to the states to decide.
On immigration, he provides a less sanguine picture for Catholic prelates. Trump has campaigned three times on harsh immigration policies and vowed to carry out “the largest deportation operation in American history.”
Archbishop Timothy Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, noted in his opening address that the bishops “certainly do not encourage illegal immigration.” Rather, he said they would “encourage immigration reform, while we continue to care for those in need who cross our borders.”
Bishop Mark Seitz of …