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The Most Urgent Issue for the U.S. Catholic Church Isn’t Abortion Anymore (Hint: It’s Immigration), by Francis X. Rocca – Brown Pelican Society of Lousiana

The Most Urgent Issue for the U.S. Catholic Church Isn’t Abortion Anymore (Hint: It’s Immigration), by Francis X. Rocca

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By J. Balla Photography. Free to use under the Unsplash License. Red, white and blue stained glass.

By Francis X. Rocca, The Atlantic, March 24, 2026

Francis X. Rocca is a contributing writer at The Atlantic and the Vatican editor at EWTN News. He has covered the Vatican since 2007, including as a correspondent for The Wall Street Journal, where he also reported on global religion.

 

Trump’s second term has transformed the priorities of the American Catholic hierarchy.

Not so long ago, when U.S. Catholic leaders said something political, they tended to sound like conservatives. American bishops’ most prominent policy statements focused on three issues: same-sex marriage, contraception, and—above all—abortion. Their frequently stated opposition to all three put them at odds with not just the left but also many Catholics. It even created tension with Rome.

Since Donald Trump’s reelection, however, the Church in the United States has been sounding more liberal. Its teaching hasn’t changed, but the president’s second term has shifted the bishops’ attention. The most urgent political concern for America’s Catholic leaders is no longer abortion; it’s immigration. …