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22 January 2021
Most Reverend Jose H. Gomez Archbishop of Los Angeles
President, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
3211 Fourth St. N.E.
Washington, D.C. 20017-1194Dear Archbishop Gomez,
I write to express my gratitude to you for giving voice to the American bishops in your Statement on the Inauguration of President Biden. It was fitting of you to congratulate the President on his victory and to wish him and the nation well as he begins his term. I join you in prayer that God will guide him on the path of truth and justice for all.
The election has left us deeply divided, and the President has rightly called for renewed national unity. Toward that end, you clearly but respectfully reminded him that the election did not resolve our deep-seated disagreements on the sanctity of life and religious liberty. The President would do well to take your words to heart. For he did not win in a landslide, but only by the narrowest of margins. He has no electoral mandate for sweeping, radical change, no mandate to codify Roe v. Wade, no mandate to force the Little Sisters of the Poor to provide contraception insurance. Coercion of conscience will not forge the national unity the President desires.
At this time of transition our fellow citizens, and especially our fellow Catholics, need to know where the Church stands as we go forward. Thank you, Archbishop Gomez, for bringing these crucial issues so clearly to light at this highly charged hour.
Respectfully in Christ Jesus,
Most Reverend Liam Cary
Bishop of Baker