The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops began its session on Wednesday and will be discussing various issues concerning the Catholic Church in the United States. However, the rhetoric of Pope Francis has changed the path of the Catholic Church as he has encouraged bishops and priests to focus more on poverty and social inequality.

The conference continue through next Wednesday, June 18 and will discuss various topics. According to the New York Times, some bishops present want to follow the Vatican's new emphasis on social justice and fighting poverty. This has led to many bishops renouncing their ostentatious living to mimic Pope Francis' frugal demeanor.

"They have a justifiable demand that we not spend extravagantly on ourselves, but that we share those goods with others, and he's really forced that issue," said Bishop Blase J. Cupich of Spokane, Washington.

The Times reports that the bishop also remarked on how he owns no furniture and lives in a simple room inside the seminary.

A writer at the National Catholic Reporter, Jesuit priest Thomas Reeves, argues that the conference should not focus on social issues like gay marriage but rather on poverty.

"Francis has shown what the new evangelization can be: an emphasis on God's compassion and love rather than on rules and guilt; an emphasis on solidarity with the poor rather than on self-righteous moralizing; an emphasis on service rather than navel-gazing; an emphasis on the Gospel rather than scholasticism," wrote Reeves.

The conference will discuss the topics of poverty as well, but Reeves is not sure to what extent the bishops will follow Francis' teachings. He adds that the bishops are divided among those who want to emphasize gay marriage, abortion and religious liberty and those who wish to emphasize fighting poverty, unemployment and immigration.

According to the National Catholic Reporter, the conference decided to emphasize issues of marriage and religious liberty rather than social injustice, contrary to Pope Francis' teachings.

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