The Case of Bishop Stowe, by Jayd Henricks

By Jayd Henricks, Catholic World Report, June 1, 2024

Jayd Henricks is the former executive director of government relations for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. He has a STL in systematic theology from the Dominican House of Studies.

The behavior of Bishop John Stowe of Lexington—behavior so gratingly at odds with the good work of his brother bishops—can only serve to embarrass the USCCB and will continue to hamper their pastoral witness if left unaddressed by the Holy See.

The Catholic bishops of the United States have been a prophetic voice in defense of the faith and the dignity of the human person. The bishops are attuned to the events that matter most to American Catholics—some policy, some pastoral—and are a unified force.

As the governing body of bishops, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), exercises its public influence, however, one bishop has proved himself to be more and more out of step.

Bishop John Stowe of Lexington, Kentucky, goes his own way. He regularly steps into the most delicate and highly-charged cultural and political issues with none of the painstaking care his brother bishops show. He seems determined, in fact, to follow his own blundering impulses, and to kick against the other bishops’ pastoral approach whenever it might rein him in. ….

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