Bishops urge ‘charity, respect, and civility’ after historic 2024 election
Archbishop Timothy Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, speaks at the USCCB fall plenary assembly Nov. 14, 2023. / Credit: USCCB video CNA Staff, Nov 6, 2024 / 15:15 pm (CNA).
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is calling for respect and civility after the 2024 U.S. elections concluded with Donald Trump winning a second term as president.
Trump won the race against Vice President Kamala Harris with a sizable Electoral College victory that stood at 306-226 on Wednesday afternoon. The Republican president-elect also held a roughly 5-million-vote lead in the popular vote.
In a statement posted to the USCCB’s website, conference president Archbishop Timothy Broglio congratulated Trump on his victory and praised the U.S.’s “ability to transition peacefully from one government to the next.”
The archbishop noted that the Catholic Church is “not aligned with any political party, and neither is the bishops’ conference.”
“No matter who occupies the White House or holds the majority on Capitol Hill, the Church’s teachings remain unchanged, and we bishops look forward to working with the people’s elected representatives to advance the common good of all,” the prelate wrote.
“As Christians, and as Americans, we have the duty to treat each other with charity, respect, and civility, even if we may disagree on how to carry out matters of public policy,” he said. “As a nation blessed with many gifts we must also be concerned for those outside our borders and eager to offer assistance to all.”
The archbishop urged Americans to pray for President-elect Trump and all elected officials so that they might “rise to meet the responsibilities entrusted to them as they serve our country and those whom they represent.”
“Let us ask for the intercession of our Blessed Mother, the patroness of our nation, that she guide to uphold the common good of all and promote the dignity of the human person, especially the most vulnerable among us, including the unborn, the poor, the stranger, the elderly and infirm, and migrants,” he said.
The 2024 election results capped what was effectively a four-year effort by Trump to retake the White House after he lost his first reelection bid to President Joe Biden in 2020. Trump became the first president in nearly 130 years to win a second presidential term nonconsecutively.
