...is the pronouncement ex cathedra, prudential, political, or what?...

Here's a good SHORT read on a question many Catholics have: "If my Priest, Bishop or even the Pope says "thus and such," on social teaching, am I bound by it?"

Short answer: if they are speaking prudentially or politically, usually NOT!

Conscience & Disagreements on Social Teaching

I bring this up because of a recent secular event here in Akron, Ohio. We have what's called a "County Council," which makes and executes county-wide laws. Since I'm near a large urban city, (guess what), most of these council members are of a certain political persuasion, and the day after the Presidential Inauguration 20 JAN 2017, my County Council convened, passed a resolution which condemned the new President's various actions AND PUBLISHED IT IN THE NAME OF THE COUNTY AND ITS RESIDENTS! I hit the roof! No one spoke to me or asked my input or opinion of this "County Resolution." How can an individual or group speak for me without my authority? (Let alone the time, energies, and tax dollars spent on this.)

The legal/Latin phrase is "quo warranto?" Or, simply stated: "By whose authority do you speak or act?"

Same thing here with "pronouncements" of the clergy.  Or, as Fr. Mark Pilon, Diocese of Arlington concludes:

That's correct. It's similar to what Pope Benedict said about the death penalty.

The CCC says this about the death penalty:
2267 Assuming that the guilty party's identity and responsibility have been fully determined, the traditional teaching
of the Church does not exclude recourse to the death penalty, if this
is the only possible way of effectively defending human lives against
the unjust aggressor.
If, however, non-lethal means are sufficient to defend and protect people's safety from the aggressor, authority will limit itself to such
means, as these are more in keeping with the concrete conditions of the
common good and are more in conformity to the dignity of the human
person.

Today, in fact, as a consequence of the possibilities which the state has for effectively preventing crime, by rendering one who has
committed an offense incapable of doing harm - without definitely taking
away from him the possibility of redeeming himself - the cases in which
the execution of the offender is an absolute necessity "are very rare,
if not practically non-existent."
 
BNA isn't it interesting that the church is front in center in excluding people who may have an opposing view. Yet they want inclusion of only "certain" people.

This is one of the reasons I pulled my kids out of the Catholic schools. My son was in 4th grade. He was floundering in the classroom and we were in the middle of trying medications at that time to see if his ADD could be helped. Well it was. But it made his tics worse and there were other really negative side affects to being on the high dosage of medication. There were several other special needs children included in the mainstream classrooms at this school but we got in with teacher who had some serious issues. She was abusing my son but he wasn't talking so I didn't find out until another child informed me. In the mean time my daughter who was a year ahead in school tests 99% of the ACTs. When I attempted to address the bruising on my son with the administration and the priest at the school I was informed that my son would be better served in another environment. But by all means it was in my daughters best interest to leave her there. Then the abusive teacher piped in that my daughter was the kind of student that the school wanted, my son was not.
 The church is inclusive only selectively. Nothing has changed since the time of Christ. We call ourselves Christians but we are the same as the crowds that lined up and heard the words of Christ with their own ears yet they still crucified him. Here again, in the US Catholic church we censure someone with another perspective on the matter. Dismiss them even or sneak like theives in the night to avoid having accountability to reason. 

When the doors are swung open you are going to get the good with the bad. Will they do anything when they see the women being treated like cattle. They will be OUTRAGED if their daughters or wives are groped and raped by people who will not obey the law of the land and they will blame the government for not protecting them. The church doesn't need to be in the middle of this.

These aren't people who will play by the same rules we play by. Fundamentally their belief structure hates all Christians. We aren't going to change that. It's like getting married with the idea that you are going influence negative behaviors in the other person. Their believe systems is deeply ingrained in their culture to the point they are not reasonable in considering another way. It pure ignorance after all the Catholics who have been murdered in the middle east to believe they will fit in here.

(Please forgive my bias. I am bitter and haven't found a way past that just yet. I am sure I'll have to answer to God)