Competing conferences show division among U.S. Catholics
wo competing visions of the Catholic Church’s future will play out in metro Detroit this weekend with separate conferences — one liberal, the other conservative — that are expected to draw thousands.
The liberal one, sponsored by the American Catholic Council, is set to be one of the biggest gatherings of left-leaning Catholics in years, a three-day event that will attract high-profile critics of the church and about 2,000 Catholics from around the world to Detroit.
At the same time, the Archdiocese of Detroit is supporting a more conservative conference in Livonia, which will feature speakers who will critique the American Catholic Council’s vision and explain the church’s views.
In a letter sent Friday to local priests, Archbishop of Detroit Allen Vigneron revealed the tensions the conference is causing.
In a letter sent Friday to local priests and deacons, Vigneron cautioned Catholics to stay away. In particular, he warned clergy not to attend a Sunday mass at Cobo, saying that anyone involved could be defrocked.