JD Vance’s Words on Immigration Were a Dog Whistle to ‘Professional’ Catholics

Practically speaking, this debate comes down to the “Justice and Peace” wing of the Catholic Church which still has a large presence in diocesan chanceries and various departments of the bishops’ conference versus the “Pro-Life” wing which increasingly comprises of more of the sorts of Catholics who you find actually going to Mass on a regular basis.

 
The Catholic Herald just published an excellent article exposing the division between professional Catholics and the ordinary lay Catholics in the pew. It begins with:

Most people – and most Catholics – think the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is just about when all the Catholic bishops in the United States get together and make various announcements.

But US Vice President JD Vance’s biting words on the USCCB’s immigration work showed this was not the case, with his pronouncements serving as a so-called “dog whistle” to what you could call the “professional” Catholic class in the country., while also making a nod toward the divisions that exist in the US Church.

Later, it goes on to state:

After the Vice President’s remarks, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a statement acknowledging it received funds from the government under a 1980 law, but added: “These funds are not sufficient to cover the entire cost of these programs. Nonetheless, this remains a work of mercy and ministry of the Church.”

The US bishops all get together only twice a year, but the USCCB as an organisation – with around 300 employees – meets five days a week, all year long.

They form the committees, write the documents and do most of the work. Most of the time, when you see a bishop’s signature on a USCCB document, they didn’t actually write it (this is of course the situation in most places – churches, governments, and institutions – it isn’t a judgement).

One of the not-too-much-talked-about facts of life in the US Catholic Church is the division between the more conservative “pro-life” wing (which is deeply committed to policy areas like abortion, sexuality, bioethics, etc.) and the “justice and peace” wing (which is particularly concerned with policy areas like immigration, poverty and anti-war advocacy).

The two wings don’t always get along.

When the USCCB was formed in 2001, by the merger of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) and United States Catholic Conference (USCC), a common joke in the coffee room was, “Did the NCCB have to pay the Democratic Party for the USCC?”

In other words, a lot of the programs supported by the USCCB are related to the “justice and peace” wing; and the Trump administration has spent its first week in office letting the “pro-life” wing know the administration is on their side.

We encourage you to read the full article at the Catholic Herald
 

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