Cardinal says U.S. bishops divided on ways to influence politics

Published: 2005-10-04

BRUSSELS, Belgium (CNS) -- U.S. bishops are facing a choice between a persuasive or a defensive approach to influencing public policy, Washington Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick told a group of European bishops. One approach reasons that "the messages of the Gospel and church teaching are inherently persuasive because they are true," he said. The main task under this approach "is to share this teaching as clearly and widely as possible and apply it consistently to the challenges we face," the cardinal said in a speech to members of the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Community, known as COMECE. The second method "begins with a belief that the Gospel and the teaching of our church are under siege," he said. "This vision suggests that our primary task is defensive. It requires protecting our teaching, concentrating on purity, rather than persuasion." The cardinal spoke in Brussels during a Sept. 20-23 meeting of five U.S. and 10 European bishops to discuss how U.S. and European hierarchies can better influence global issues.

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