Letter From America

Marion McKeone: US Catholic hierarchy are heading for a very public split

The deep political divide in the US is echoed in the schism in American Catholicism

Pope Francis: Conservative bishops have labelled the pro-Francis moderates schismatics and accused them of heresy. Picture: Getty

The polarisation of the United States, the red and blue state divide and the ever-deepening antipathy and mistrust between liberals and conservatives is a favourite topic of talking heads and pundits.

America’s Catholic hierarchy is experiencing its own polarisation – which is remarkably similar to the one playing out across the US. On Wednesday, a three-week conference – the culmination of a two-year ‘Synod on Synodality’ of Catholic bishops – gets underway in Rome. Synodality ...