Cardinal Timothy Dolan, chair of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' (USCCB) Committee on Pro-Life Activities, has issued a statement that "welcomed the State Department's April 4 announcement that it will withhold federal funding from the U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA) because UNFPA monies go to Chinese agencies that perform forced abortions and involuntary sterilizations." Cardinal Dolan goes on to praise the Trump administration, but without a specific mention of President Trump who is primarily responsible for the defunding.
"This is a victory for women and children across the globe, as well as for U.S. taxpayers," Cardinal Dolan said. "We are so grateful to the Trump administration for taking this important action to end U.S. support for UNFPA so long as it remains committed to China's coercive abortion and sterilization programs."
Why mention the lack of President Trump’s name? In the month of January alone, during President Trump’s first 11 days in office, the USCCB issued five public statements critical of the president, by name, on the issue of immigration: January 25, January 26, January 27, January 30, January 31. However, Cardinal Dolan did praise President Trump for restoring the Mexico City Policy:
"We applaud President Trump's action today to restore the Mexico City Policy, which withholds taxpayer funds from foreign non-governmental organizations that promote or perform abortions overseas (often in violation of the host country's own laws)."
In the month of February, the USCCB issued two more statements critical of President Trump or his "administration" on immigration, February 17, February 23, while on February 10 praising the decision of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals for overthrowing President Trump’s Executive Order for a 90-day moratorium on issuing visas from seven nations on the Middle East.
On February 16, the USCCB issued a statement complaining, "The President has not yet signed the executive order on religious freedom." On February 16, the USCCB praised the "Message from Modesto," which specially called for the "disruption" of administration policies, and on February 17, the USCCB urged the "Trump administration" to "Care for Creation."
In March the basic pattern continues: On March 6, a statement from the USCCB says President Trump’s latest Executive Order still puts vulnerable populations around the world at risk. A "pastoral reflection" on March 22, reiterates the bishop’s concern about immigration policy. And on March 29, the USCCB states, "President Donald J. Trump issued an Executive Order on March 28, 2017 that rescinds and weakens numerous environmental protections, and effectively dismantles the Clean Power Plan (CPP)…"
Press statements are always carefully worded. The avoidance of addressing the president by name, or the substitution of "administration" or "Trump administration" signifies the unwillingness of the USCCB to treat the new president fairly. The attitude seems to be: use "President Donald J. Trump" when criticizing, but avoid the same when something positive has to be officially recognized. Among all the USCCB statements, only Cardinal Dolan has given the president the respect he deserves.
Dr. Deal W. Hudson took over Crisis Magazine in 1995, leaving in 2010 to become president of Catholic Advocate. While at Crisis, Hudson led the Catholic voter outreach for President George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004, and later advised the campaigns of both John McCain and Donald Trump on Catholic outreach. In 2014, he began his weekly two-hour radio show, "Church and Culture," on the Ave Maria Radio Network, and launched www.thechristianreview.com in 2015. His books include "Happiness and the Limits of Satisfaction" and "Onward Christian Soldiers: The Growing Political Power of Catholics and Evangelicals in the United States." To read more of his reports — Click Here Now.
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