As I indicated yesterday, there is no way the bishops are going to avoid discussion recent political developments this week, even publicly. From CNA:
Another bishop who requested anonymity, confirmed to CNA that the bishops will not drop the issue of abortion or hold the conversation behind closed doors. On the contrary, they will discuss it on no less than three occasions: “in our regional groups, in executive session, and in the public session.”
The sessions open to the media will take place on Monday, November 10, from 9:00 a.m. to mid-afternoon, and Tuesday, November 11, from 9:00 a.m. until mid-afternoon. The rest of the meeting will be for breakout sessions, executive sessions, and prayer and reflection.
Related: an interesting take on the “bishops were defeated” line (also explored in the CNA article) – from OSV: Maybe things are bit more complicated….
At the state-level, Obama outpaced his national gain of 7 percentage points over the Kerry vote of 2004 in Florida, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Vermont, and Delaware. In six states Obama lost ground to Kerry’s Catholic vote totals of 2004. Catholics in Missouri, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Louisiana, Minnesota, and California were less likely than Catholics in 2004 to vote for the Democratic presidential candidate. In both Missouri and Pennsylvania, Catholic bishops made statements, widely covered by the media, regarding the importance of life issues relative to other issues in the campaign. These statements potentially had an effect on the votes of Catholics in these states given Obama’s voting record and support for abortion. In California voters approved a ballot proposition banning same-sex marriage that was supported by California bishops. It is not possible to isolate these potential effects with the exit poll data released so far but these are potential hypothesis to explore further.
This morning: addresses from the Pope via Sambi and George. Introductions of new bishops, recognition of the recently retired, prayers for the deceased. I believe elections for various committee chairs happen today as well.
