FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 9, 2026
CONTACT: Heather Cabral, hcabral@faithinaction.org
 
Washington – The reported threats by the United States government toward Archbishop Christophe Pierre represent a dangerous and unacceptable breach of the constitutional principle of separation of church and state. In response, leaders with Faith in Action issued the following statements: 

Bishop Dwayne D. Royster, executive director of Faith in Action urged, “Let us be clear: the United States government does not have the authority to pressure, intimidate, or coerce any faith tradition into supporting its political agenda. When political leaders attempt to discipline or silence religious voices, they are not defending democracy, they are eroding it.

What appears to be unfolding is deeply troubling. A government, confronted with moral criticism from the Roman Catholic Church and its leadership, is responding not with reflection, but with pressure. Not with accountability, but with intimidation.

Pope Leo XIV has spoken to the moral crises of our time: the treatment of migrants, the dignity of human life, and the responsibility of nations to care for the most vulnerable. That is not politics, that is prophetic witness.

There have been times throughout history when political power has sought to bend the Church to its will—most notably during the Avignon Papacy. Those moments did not strengthen democracy or faith. They weakened both.

This is not simply a diplomatic disagreement, it is a test of whether we still believe that faith communities have the freedom to speak truth to power without fear of retaliation and we will not be silent. We stand with Archbishop Pierre. We stand with Pope Leo XIV, and we stand with every faith tradition that refuses to be bullied into blessing policies that harm the least among us.

Our faith does not belong to the state and our conscience cannot be threatened into compliance.”

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