U.S. Catholic bishops elect Archbishop Timothy Broglio as conference president

BALTIMORE (RNS) — U.S. Catholic Bishops have elected Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, who oversees the Archdiocese for the Military Services, as the new president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Broglio’s election to a three-year term comes as no great surprise. While not seen as a hardline conservative, Broglio’s election is not a radical ideological departure from his predecessor. Like Gomez, Broglio has shown a willingness to take conservative public stances, particularly, in Broglio’s case, on LGBTQ issues.

In 2011, he joined other bishops in urging then-President Barack Obama’s administration to drop a legal challenge against the Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as between a man and a woman.

In 2013, Broglio put forth rules for Catholic military chaplains that not only prevented them from being forced to bless or witness a same-sex marriage, but also from participating in funerals that could “give the impression that the church approves of same sex ‘marital’ relationships.”

More recently, Broglio spoke in support of Catholic members of the armed services who sought the use of religious waivers to opt out of COVID-19 vaccines. It was a position that set him apart from many other U.S. bishops — including Gomez, whose archdiocese declined requests to offer vaccine waivers.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated.