VATICAN (CNS): Political discourse in the United States has devolved into people shouting at and not listening to each other, showing a need to promote respectful dialogue despite political differences, said Archbishop Timothy Broglio, the president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops.
In an interview with Vatican News, Archbishop Broglio of the Archdiocese for the Military Services said, “One thing that all of us can do is to remember and to promote the dignity of the human person.”
In the interview posted online on July 16, the archbishop said, “Even if someone disagrees with me, he or she is still created in the image and likeness of God. And therefore, has a dignity that I have to recognise and that I have to respect.”
If people were more aware of their common-held dignity, he said, “then we might be able to discuss as rational human beings, the problems and the disagreements that we have, and perhaps come to some solutions.”
He said, “But it’s tragic that political discourse in this country has reached a point where people just shout at each other, and there’s no space to listen to the other. And I think that’s something that Pope Francis has urged us constantly to recognise, this basic human dignity and to respect it in every way that we can.”
Archbishop Broglio said, “This tragic event [the attempted assassination of Donald Trump on July 13] is really a call to action to all of us to measure our discourse and to move forward in pathways of peace and reconciliation and [for] an honest assessment of whatever political differences there are and however we can work together to find solutions.”
Even if someone disagrees with me, he or she is still created in the image and likeness of God. And therefore, has a dignity that I have to recognise and that I have to respect
Archbishop Timothy Broglio, president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops
The archbishop said his initial reaction to the attempted assassination was “one of horror that violence would take place in what is supposed to be a democratic society, that we’re not able to talk to one another.” That someone was able to make an attempt on Trump’s life, he added, is “certainly very, very tragic.”
When asked, as president of the US Bishops’ Conference, what bishops could do to foster peaceful dialogue or coexistence, he said, “I think all of us in our dioceses can certainly promote the importance of dialogue, the importance of respect for the other.”
The commitment to protect human life, he said, “is based on this notion that the human person is worthy of our respect from the moment of conception until the moment of death. And I think we have to be constant in that.”
Archbishop Broglio noted the importance of the National Eucharistic Congress being held from July 17 to 21 in Indianapolis, Indiana, saying, “I think that will be a great opportunity for us to promote dialogue and reconciliation.”
He said, “In Jesus Christ, we find our salvation, and we also find a way forward. Obviously in the person of Christ, we find a code of conduct and I think the more we do to promote that, the better off our society will be,” he said, adding, “We can’t do it all by ourselves, but we can certainly lay a foundation and urge those that we’re responsible for to promote this dignity and this dialogue.”
