text: "Perhaps if they'd used every ounce of their clout BEFORE last November's election to appeal to the USCCB ..." 
  
  Do you really think organizations like the Catholic Climate Covenant and the Franciscan Action Network have any clout whatsoever with the USCCB? I know members of both groups and I know for a fact that they did everything they could to get the bishops to take a stand before the election. I also know the bishops ignored them.
  
  As long as the USCCB and its individual members continue down the path of abortion being the one and only issue that matters, they'll continue to cater to the religious right at the expense of every other issue on which they might have some positive impact. Don't blame Catholic advocacy groups like the Catholic Climate Covenant and the Franciscan Action Network for the bishops' tunnel vision.