The 2016 United States elections are a time of tension and reflection for many Americans. For Catholic bishops, it's not so different.
“It's always a joy to be a bishop, it’s always a challenge to be a bishop,” Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York told CNA.
“I think in an election year, the challenges might outweigh the joys.”
He said bishops have the same duties and concerns as other Americans.
“We're American citizens, we’re responsible, we’re loyal, we’re thoughtful. We study the issues, we try our best to be engaged in the process,” he said.
“We're also pastors, so we try to remind our people of those basic biblical values, those classical Catholic values that have guided us through the ages, particularly as articulated by John Paul II: the dignity of the human person, the sacredness of human life, solidarity.
“Those are three things that we keep hammering away on. And we trust that our people under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit will make the right decision.”
Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore also reflected on the state of the country.
“It’s always a grace and a challenge to be a bishop, and it’s an especially bracing challenge during an election year,” he told CNA.
In such a time, he said, bishops need “to teach, and teach clearly … that which is most important.”
All the moral issues that face the U.S. are important and deserving of respect, he maintained.
“There are some that are truly life or death,” he said, referring to issues of human dignity and its “obliteration.”
For Archbishop Lori, bishops must provide guidance: “We certainly have to lay out the issues clearly and in their proper order.”
The twelve apostles chosen by Jesus formed the bedrock of the early Church , and their Catholic identity is deeply rooted in their direct relationship with Christ and the mission He entrusted to them. The Catechism of the Catholic Church highlights this foundational role, stating that Jesus "instituted the Twelve as 'the seeds of the new Israel and the beginning of the sacred hierarchy'" ( CCC 860 ). These men were not simply followers; they were handpicked by Jesus, lived intimately with Him, witnessed His miracles and teachings firsthand, and were specifically commissioned to preach the Gospel to all nations ( Matthew 28:19-20 ). Their unique position as eyewitnesses to the life, death, and resurrection of Christ, and their reception of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, established them as the authoritative leaders of the nascent Church, a reality echoed in the writings of early Church Fathers like Ignatius of Antioch, who emphasized the apostles' authority as repre...