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Newsweek
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Newsweek
American Bishops' War With Trump Admin Is Heating Up
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) seems to be battling with President Donald Trump's administration over some of its policies. Last week, the USCCB, the official assembly of the Catholic Church in the United States, slammed U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for rescinding a policy that gave guidance on the care, custody and documentation of pregnant women they encounter. "It is deeply troubling and inexcusable that measures intended to ensure the basic safety of pregnant mothers and their young children while in government custody could be rescinded with such indifference toward the vulnerability of those involved," said Bishop Mark J. Seitz, of El Paso, Texas, chairman of the USCCB Committee on Migration. CPB Acting Commissioner Pete Flores issued the memo, which was circulated internally but not publicly announced, on May 5, revealing that four policies were determined "either obsolete or misaligned with current Agency guidance and immigration enforcement priorities." Bishop Kevin J. Farrell places the Book of Gospels on the head of Monsignor Mark J. Seitz (right) as Father J. Douglas Deshotel kneels with a book on his head during the Episcopal Ordination on... Bishop Kevin J. Farrell places the Book of Gospels on the head of Monsignor Mark J. Seitz (right) as Father J. Douglas Deshotel kneels with a book on his head during the Episcopal Ordination on April 27, 2010, at the Cathedral Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe in downtown Dallas. More AP One of them was the 2022 memo "Processing of Pregnant, and Postpartum Noncitizens and Infants," which lays out guidelines for CPB, which include offering a medical assessment to all pregnant women and making sure breast-feeding mothers have access to privacy and rest facilities. "This decision is all the more concerning as the Administration simultaneously ramps up family detention in place of safer, more cost-effective alternatives to detention," Seitz said. "Let us be clear: protecting pregnant mothers and their children can never be considered 'obsolete.' This principle irrefutably extends to noncitizens in immigration detention, each of whom possesses an inviolable, God-given dignity that must be respected. "We urge the Administration to reissue guidance that adequately reflects and affirms the increased standard of care due to this vulnerable population while in government custody." Newsweek has contacted CBP via email for comment. Photo-illustration by Newsweek/AP/Getty The memo does stress that CBP agents should continue to uphold the care guidelines laid out in all remaining policies. "The safety of all who we encounter during operations remains a top priority," it says. "All CBP personnel are expected to treat those in Agency custody in a professional and respectful manner." It comes amid an ongoing civil case in which the USCCB is suing the Trump administration over its suspension of refugee programs. In a lawsuit filed in February, the USCCB said it has worked with the government for "nearly half a century" to help "refugees who are fleeing persecution, instability, and oppression and have come to the United States as a place of refuge and hope." The USCCB said that the spending freeze means the organization "faces irreparable damage to its longstanding refugee resettlement programs and its reputation and relationship with its subrecipients and the refugee populations it serves." Trump argued in January that his mission to "realign the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program" is because "the United States lacks the ability to absorb large numbers of migrants, and in particular, refugees, into its communities in a manner that does not compromise the availability of resources for Americans." The Bigger Picture: Trump And The Catholic Church Trump's relationship with the Catholic Church has made headlines recently, following the election of the first American pope, Leo XIV, this month. While Leo is in the "middle of the road" in politics," he is "not happy with what's going on with immigration," his brother John Prevost tole The New York Times. Trump told Fox News' Sean Hannity that he is open to talking to Leo about immigration and has also said he wants Leo's other brother, Louis Prevost, "a major MAGA fan" to visit the White House. Vice President JD Vance, a Catholic convert, traveled to Rome for a private audience with Leo, after attending his inaugural Mass in St. Peter's Square last weekend. There was already tension between the church, to which 53 million U.S. adults belong, according to U.S. Census Bureau data from 2024, and the Trump administration, after Leo's predecessor, Pope Franics, rebuked Vance for invoking a "Christian concept" of extending love to your family and then fellow citizens before the rest of the world. But Francis wrote in a letter to Vance: "Christian love is not a concentric expansion of interests that little by little extend to other persons and groups. The true ordo amoris that must be promoted is that which we discover by meditating constantly on the parable of the 'good Samaritan' (cf. Lk 10:25-37), that is, by meditating on the love that builds a fraternity open to all, without exception." America's relationship with the Catholic Church has long been important. Newsweek broke down the behind-the-scenes role it has played in American diplomacy and culture here. "Much of the future approach of the USCCB to the White House will depend also on the signs they will receive from Pope Leo XIV in the Vatican in the next few weeks and months," theology and religious studies professor Massimo Faggioli told Newsweek. "It's something the White House will pay more attention to. All this in the context of a Catholic VP, JD Vance, who is really trying hard to justify anything that Trump and members of his Cabinet do," the Villanova University academic said. "Vance's pitch is designed for a Catholic audience and the bishops know it."
Herald Malaysia
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Herald Malaysia
Vatican staff to swear oath of secrecy ahead of conclave
Also taking the oath are sacristans, priests who will be available to hear the cardinals' confessions, among others Apr 30, 2025 This photo, taken and handout on April 28, by The Vatican Media shows Central African cardinal Dieudonné Nzapalainga (left) as he arrives to attend the fifth congregation meeting in The Vatican. (Photo: AFP) By Junno Arocho Esteves, Catholic News ServiceOne by one, placing a right hand on the Book of Gospels, staff driving, cooking, cleaning and caring for the cardinals who will elect a new pope will swear an oath of perpetual secrecy about the election of the 267th successor of St. members of the College of Cardinals famously take an oath, so do Vatican staff members, including the elevator operator, doctors and attendants, who will be assisting with the everyday tasks and needs of the cardinals during the conclave which begins May an April 29 statement, the Vatican said "the oath of the officials and attendants of the conclave will take place" May 5 in the Pauline Chapel, not far from the Sistine Chapel where the cardinals will vote for the next Vatican also announced that the Mass for the Election of the Roman Pontiff will begin at 10 a.m. in St. Peter's Basilica May 7 and that the cardinals will solemnly process into the Sistine Chapel from the Pauline Chapel at 4:30 p.m. the same day. Among those directly assisting the College of Cardinals and are required to swear the oath are: Archbishop Ilson Montanari, secretary of the College of Cardinals; Archbishop Diego Ravelli, master of the liturgical ceremonies; and a priest chosen by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who is presiding over the conclave, "to assist him in his office." Also taking the oath are sacristans, priests who will be available to hear the cardinals' confessions, doctors, nurses, elevator operators, technical services staff, the colonel and major of the Pontifical Swiss Guard, as well as the director of security services for Vatican City State and some of his assistants. The rules regarding the oath were outlined in the apostolic constitution, "Universi Dominici Gregis" ("Shepherd of the Lord's Whole Flock"), which was issued by St. John Paul II in 1996 and amended by Pope Benedict XVI in 2007 and again in 2013. According to the apostolic constitution, the cardinal chamberlain, currently Cardinal Kevin J. Farrell, along with three cardinal assistants, will approve the staff members chosen to have contact with the cardinals during the conclave and, therefore, are required to take the oath. At the fifth general congregation meeting April 28, it was announced that Cardinals Luis Antonio Tagle, Dominique Mamberti, and Reinhard Marx were chosen to assist Cardinal Farrell in preparing for the conclave. Once approved, the staff members "who in any way or at any time should come to learn anything from any source, directly or indirectly, regarding the election process, and in particular regarding the voting which took place in the election itself, are obliged to maintain strict secrecy with all persons extraneous to the College of Cardinal electors," the document states. Placing their hands on the Gospels, staff members swear to "observe absolute and perpetual secrecy with all who are not part of the College of Cardinal electors concerning all matters directly or indirectly related to the ballots cast and their scrutiny for the election of the Supreme Pontiff." Staff will also swear not to use audio or video equipment to record anything taking place during the period of the election or that is related to the process of the election itself. "I declare that I take this oath fully aware that an infraction thereof will incur the penalty of automatic ['latae sententiae'] excommunication reserved to the Apostolic See," the document
