USCCB president Archbishop Broglio calls on Israel to negotiate with Hamas

“I think everyone would recognize that Israel has a superior military force. They should be able to perhaps try and find some way to negotiate. I know that they’ve taken the position that they won’t negotiate until all of the hostages have been released. But I don’t know that that justifies attacking, particularly where civilians could be injured and have been injured,“ he said.

“I would certainly always be one who would advocate for negotiation before entering into conflict,” said Broglio, who represents U.S. servicemen and servicewomen as archbishop for the Military Services, USA.

Broglio was also asked to comment on a recent interview published in the Jesuit magazine America with Cardinal Christophe Pierre, the apostolic nuncio to the United States. In the interview the cardinal reflected on the state of the Catholic Church in the U.S., which he said was characterized by empty churches and seminaries.

In response, Broglio, who was elected president of USCCB in 2022, said that he disagreed with Pierre, who was recently named a cardinal by Pope Francis.

“I don’t think that really reflects the reality of the Church in the United States. Certainly our churches are not empty yet. We’re trying our best to make sure that that continues to be the case. We have a number of seminaries that are actually at capacity,” Broglio said.

“I think there’s been a concerted effort, both for the Eucharistic Revival and for the whole notion of preaching the good news. So I think there might be a little bit of a dichotomy between what was presented in that article and what the reality is. That’s my perception,” he said.