“This could be a good opportunity for us in the parishes to clarify and to teach," said Cardinal Oscar Rodríguez Maradiaga.

The U.S. bishops commended a resolution in the House of Representatives that condemns recent attacks on religious minorities in Iraq.

Bishop Hubbard called the New Start treaty a “modest step toward a world with greater respect for human life.”

The current outbreak of cholera has aggravated an already difficult situation for Haitians, the bishops said.

“Our country has not stepped up to help,” said Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, “these people have nothing and cannot go back.”

Has partisanship and politicization seeped into the church from U.S. culture?