Links: Bishops, Communion and culture wars; getting tired of Twitter

At Our Sunday Visitor, editorial director Gretchen Crowe interviews Bishop Kevin Rhoades, chair of the Doctrine Committee of the U.S. bishops' conference. I am not sure he clears up any of the ambiguities that plagued his comments during last week's meeting of the U.S. bishops. He seems confused at times. If he really wants to draft a document that is not about politics, he needs to be a lot clearer than he has been.

At The Hill, Catholic University of America politics professor John White argues that the bishops have gone all-in on the culture wars with their vote to proceed with the document on "eucharistic coherence." And he correctly notes why it was important to stop this nonsense last week: "But with their authorization, the bishops have ensured discord will reign supreme."

At Religion & Politics, the University of Notre Dame's John McGreevy looks at last week's decision by the U.S. bishops' conference and puts the debate in the wider context, explaining how and why America is the only industrialized country where the policy debate about abortion became intertwined with partisan politics. The polarization of the political parties is the fault of both sides, McGreevy notes, but the decision to allow that polarization to afflict the church is all on the bishops. "Bishops in thrall to a moral vision that conflates (one type of) theology with politics cannot seize the moment," he writes. "The resulting inconsistency will be far more damaging to 'eucharistic integrity' than the actions of any single politician."