Archbishop Broglio: Human dignity, economy key to Catholic support for Trump

CNA Staff, Nov 8, 2024 / 17:10 pm

The president of the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops (USCCB) credited concern for human dignity and the economy as possible reasons why a majority of Catholics voted for the now-President-elect Donald Trump.

Archbishop Timothy Broglio, who also heads the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, on a Thursday segment of EWTN’s “The World Over with Raymond Arroyo” commented on the historic election, in which a majority of Catholics — 56% according to some exit polls — voted for Trump.

“I would think certainly our preeminent concern for the dignity of the human person is one thing that would have influenced those voters,” Broglio told Arroyo.

“I think also people are uncertain of the economy. I think that would be another factor. I think also in a very real sense, Catholics have seen what the first Trump administration did to support human life. I think maybe that would certainly be a factor that influences as well,” Broglio said.

Broglio also noted that Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign had “no space for any freedom of conscience” in regard to the abortion issue.

“Also, in a very real sense, Vice President Harris had made the right to abortion almost the central issue of the campaign,” Broglio added. “I think that would be very dissuading to many, many Catholics.”

When asked what the conference’s priorities were going into a Trump administration, Broglio said its priorities “really remain unchanged.”

“There is, of course, the concern for the dignity of the human person from the moment of conception until natural death: that remains a preeminent concern of the bishops,” Broglio said.

Broglio also highlighted “a tremendous concern” for the poor and the homeless in the nation. 

“We are a very fortunate nation, and we have many, many advantages. Yet sometimes in our large cities, we see tremendous numbers of homeless,” Broglio said. “We know there are other people who have difficulty making ends meet at the end of each month. We want to be mindful to follow them and to try and help them, certainly through charitable outreach, but also through perhaps trying to find solutions to the root problems that keep people in poverty.”

Migration is also a key issue for Broglio and the U.S. bishops — both at the border itself and issues abroad.

“A third concern would be trying to reform the migration policy or the law of migration in this country so that migration can be orderly, that it be legal, and that some of the unrest that we’ve experienced at the border can be resolved,” Broglio continued.

Coupled with this concern is “the role the United States plays internationally,” the archbishop said.

“We should be able to try and address some of the issues that force people to consider leaving their homelands to go elsewhere,” Broglio said. “If we could help resolve some of those problems and questions that might be another way from the outside to lessen the tension at the borders.” 

When asked about Trump’s support for an in vitro fertilization (IVF) mandate, Broglio emphasized that such reproductive technology is contrary to Church teaching.

“We’ll try to continue to reiterate what the Church teaches — that the unborn child in the womb has a right to live, has a right to be born, and that conception should be the result of the natural union between husband and wife — and so IVF really isn’t a solution,” Broglio said. 

Trump earlier this year proposed that the government pay for IVF services. He has also walked back his pro-life stance, promising to veto nationwide protection for unborn children. 

In a previous interview with Arroyo in October, Trump expressed his openness to religious exemptions for an IVF mandate, saying: “It sounds to me like a pretty good idea.” 

“We’ll try to continue to present that teaching in the hopes that we’ll find some receptive ears in the new administration,” Broglio said.