Reply #25: 100% agree

[Prism]

Though it has been a soft trend developing over many years with their biggest anchor in abortion rights, the conservative American church really hit their hard politicization moment when Senator Kerry ran in 2004. The way those bishops lined up on the political chessboard to do Republican bidding seemed unprecedented. It was as if the American Church finally went rogue.

It's dismaying. Despite my very deep disagreements with the Vatican on things like women's rights and LGBT equality, I think they could be a great liberal force on issues of war, criminal justice, poverty, and the environment if only they'd save those issues from the repeated eclipse by social policy.

But we know the conservative American bishops will have none of that. I have a deep suspicion the election of even a slightly socially liberal pope would engender a crisis similar to the Anglican schisms.