BALTIMORE -- The nation's Roman Catholic bishops, at an annual assembly Monday, gave two standing ovations to the Vatican's U.S. ambassador who was behind Pope Francis' meeting with Kim Davis.
Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano received the warm reception as he made his customary address to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, one of his first public appearances since the uproar over the county clerk in Kentucky. Vigano turns 75 in January, the age at which bishops are required to submit their resignations to the pope.
The ambassador had invited Davis to be among those greeting the pope in the Vatican embassy in Washington in September during Francis' visit. Her lawyer caused an uproar when he announced the meeting soon after Francis returned to Rome, describing it as a papal affirmation of Davis' approach to conscientious objection. The Vatican insisted the meeting was not an endorsement and said she was one of several dozen people who had greeted Francis.
Davis had briefly gone to jail rather than comply with a court order to issue same-sex marriage licenses, becoming a lightning rod for tensions over the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that legalized gay marriage nationwide.
Some bishops said they were committed to reversing the June same-sex marriage ruling. Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City, Kan., said a concerted effort was needed to "build a consensus" to do so. As a model, he pointed to state laws that have made it harder to obtain an abortion, even as the procedure remains legal nationwide.
"I don't think because five Supreme Court justices changed the public policy on such a fundamental issue that we should just accept it. I think we have to be as strong as we have on the pro-life issue," Naumann said.
Bishop Robert Baker of Birmingham, Ala., said the bishops should join other religious groups in working to protect government workers who refuse to participate in same-sex weddings. The bishops have not said specifically what kind of conscience protections they support for civil authorities.
"I hope we will not back away from that advocacy," Baker said.
In his speech Monday in Baltimore, Vigano didn't mention Davis. He urged the bishops to persevere in working to "preserve a moral order in society" and said they should not "fall prey" to "secularized and increasingly pagan" practices in broader society. He said Catholic colleges and universities, specifically those founded by Jesuits, should do more to shore up Catholic identity at the schools.
"The course must always be set by Christ and his church -- never allowing influence or wealth to dictate what might be an improper orientation for a Catholic school or university," Vigano said.
Jesuits run many of the most prominent U.S. Catholic colleges. The adherence to church teaching at Catholic universities and colleges has been a central issue in disputes within the American church.
In a separate speech, the president of the bishops' conference, Archbishop Joseph Kurtz, spoke generally about conscientious objections, but did not go into specifics. Dozens of U.S. dioceses and Catholic nonprofits are among faith groups suing the Obama administration over the birth control coverage requirement in the Affordable Care Act. President Barack Obama created an accommodation that requires insurers to provide the coverage in place of objecting religious nonprofits. The U.S. Supreme Court recently announced it was taking up lawsuits challenging the accommodation, with arguments scheduled in March.
"What a great tragedy it will be if our ministries are slowly secularized or driven out of the public square because of short-sighted laws or regulations that limit our ability to witness and serve consistent with our faith," said Kurtz, of Louisville, Ky.
The public sessions of the bishops' meeting run through today, when the conference is expected to vote on a document the bishops issue during every presidential election that aims to provide moral guidance to Catholic voters.
A Section on 11/17/2015