A high-profile US cardinal has criticised the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN), a conservative Catholic US media conglomerate, for its fundamental criticism of Pope Francis.
In an interview with Spanish magazine Vida Nueva, Cardinal Robert McElroy of San Diego (pictured), supported Bishop Fernando Prado of San Sebastián, Spain, who banned diocesan television from airing content produced by EWTN.
“I would not have EWTN on diocesan media either,” McElroy responded.
“EWTN worries me because it represents a giant of economic and cultural power connected to a religious viewpoint that is fundamentally critical of the pope,” the cardinal said.
McElroy claimed that the channel’s main anchors constantly minimise the abilities and theological knowledge of Francis and attempt to move the world away from the reforms that he is signalling.
McElroy said that Francis has encountered opposition due to his intention of completing the work of the Second Vatican Council, as well as his constant inclusion of the experiences and spiritual points of view of the Global South at the centre of the life of the church.
The cardinal believes that this opposition is exacerbated by Catholics’ worries that the pope is open to exploring pastoral paths that are not prohibited by existing doctrinal formulations.
McElroy calls to open diaconate to women
In the interview, McElroy reiterated his previous call to open the diaconate to women while raising concerns about the ordination of women to the priesthood. He fears that the ordination of women to the priesthood would deeply divide the church, and for this reason, it should not be an objective of the synodal process.
McElroy praised the pope for including women in church structures but said that the church is still looking for a theological framework that reveals the equality of women in its fullness.
McElroy’s recent writing about how the church should minister to LGBTQ people and divorced and remarried Catholics has received significant backlash, including an essay where Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois, accused McElroy of heresy.
When asked by Vida Nueva if the accusation of heresy hurt him, McElroy acknowledged that it did, but he said it hurt the church more.
“This language endangers the church even more, in breaking down the dialogue that we should maintain these days about the fundamental questions that we are confronting,” McElroy said.
McElroy said that Francis’s attention is centred on the life of the believer in its complexity and on how the Gospel and the tradition of the church can apply in an effective and compassionate way to the lives of those who struggle ardently to draw close to God and follow his path.
“It is vital that during all of these debates over doctrinal questions we resist the temptation of using negative labels against those who adopt postures that are opposite to ours,” said McElroy.