CNN JUST DOESN'T GET IT....BUT NEITHER DOES THE USCCB

CNN, the “fake news” network which President Trump constantly attacks, has gotten it wrong.  

Again!

In an editorial column appearing on the network’s website, CNN reported that Speaker Paul Ryan had dismissed Reverend Patrick Conroy, the Jesuit priest who had been serving as House chaplain.

The day before, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) had penned a letter urging Congress to restore legal protections for young immigrants who had been brought to the country illegally by their parents.

According to the editorial, while the timing of the two events appeared to be coincidental (in fact, Father Conroy had been fired by the Speaker roughly two weeks earlier but did not reveal the dismissal until his interview with the New York Times), the juxtaposition of the two events was particularly noteworthy.  

According to the network, the convergence illuminated a key question: as Trump's  agenda, particularly on immigration, draws more overt opposition from the leadership of the USCCB, can the GOP maintain the dominant support among white Catholics it has enjoyed since the Reagan administration?

CNN just doesn’t get it.

The real question is whether the US Bishops and the Church itself can retain support among the white Catholics who have been continually dismissed or ignored especially with regard to the USCCB's overwhelming support of illegal immigration?

White Catholics, especially men, constituted a dominant part of the electoral coalition which elected President Trump.  

But, not coincidentally, recent polls show that, while the President continues to enjoy the support of white Catholics, the Republican Party has lost their support, both financial and electoral.

US Bishops frequently criticize Republican budget priorities as too harsh on the poor.  

White middle-class Catholics totally disagree.

Illegal immigration continues to heighten tensions between the Bishops and the faithful.  And the gap between the Bishops and their flocks is widening.

White Catholics supporting the President's immigration initiatives find themselves increasingly isolated or abandoned by their Bishops who are vociferous in their enthusiasm and encouragement of the American Church’s demographic transformation, with Hispanics (overwhelmingly present in this country illegally) represent a growing portion of the Church.

As the USCCB continues to advocate for illegal immigrants and criticize the President's agenda by way of increasingly critical documents, the Bishops are alienating white middle-class Catholics who have been the backbone of the Church’s spiritual and temporal support.

CNN simply got it wrong.

Again.

It’s not the GOP which is danger of losing white Catholics, it’s the Church itself that’s in danger.

More importantly and sadly, the USCCB membership is as clueless about this as is CNN.