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US bishops’ rifts unlikely to ease after Benedict’s death

FILE - With the sun shining behind him, Pope Benedict XVI arrives to celebrates Mass, Thursday, April 17, 2008, at Washington Nationals baseball Park in Washington. Many of the conservative prelates who dominate the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops were appointed by Benedict. Even after his death in December 2022, Catholic academics and clergy say his absence is unlikely to weaken the conservatives' collective power or end the culture wars that have divided the USCCB. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File) FILE - Cardinal Timothy Dolan, archbishop of New York, speaks during an interview at the Vatican, Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2023. Dolan, who has been archbishop of since his appointment to that post by Pope Benedict XVI in 2009, expressed relief that the opposing ideological camps within the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops had responded to Benedict’s death with “inclusive praise.” But he demurred when asked if the USCCB’s culture wars might subside. “Unfortunately, you’re talking to a church historian, so I have to say, that is nothing new,” he said. “They’ve always been going on and they’ll continue.” (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino, File) FILE - Bishops watch Pope Benedict XVI on a large video monitor during a rally with young people and seminarians at Saint Joseph's Seminary in Yonkers, N.Y., Saturday, April 19, 2008. Many of the conservative prelates who dominate the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops were appointed by Benedict. Even after his death in December 2022, Catholic academics and clergy say his absence is unlikely to weaken the conservatives' collective power or end the culture wars that have divided the USCCB. (AP Photo/File)
US bishops’ rifts unlikely to ease after Benedict’s death