Catholic bishops convene in Washington for annual fall meeting

new president elected; important proposals and recommendations debated and voted on

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) met for its fall meeting in Washington, D.C., on November 15 – 18. The election of conference officers and committee chairmen for the next three years was the main order of business on an agenda with important proposals and recommendations to debate and vote.

Bishop William S. Skylstad of Spokane, Washington was elected as the thirteenth president of the Conference. Bishop Skylstad had been serving as vice president and will succeed Bishop Wilton D. Gregory of Belleville, Illinois, as President. Cardinal Francis George of Chicago was elected as Vice-President. A Treasurer and fourteen committee chairmen were also chosen.

Bishop Gregory, who completed his term at the conclusion of the fall meeting, presented the Bishops’ Conference with three challenges that continue to face them. The first challenge refers to the crisis of sexual abuse in the church which Gregory describes as "the greatest scandal that the church in the United States perhaps has ever confronted." The Conference needs to continue its review of the Charter and the Norms and "for the preserving of our promise to protect children in the church and for our pledge to continue the healing and reconciliation of victims of this terrible crime."

The second challenge involves the potential evolution of the Conference in terms of priorities to effect greater holiness within the church and a more successful evangelization of society, use of resources, and ways to efficiently use meeting time. Bishop Gregory commented, "I am drawn to conclude that the Conference as we know it today is likely to be a much different Conference five or ten years from now."

The third challenge focuses on the office and duties of the bishop and how the Conference can promote cooperation and unanimity of heart among the bishops themselves. "Even as we strive to see to the pastoral good of the faithful in the particular dioceses entrusted to our care as bishops," suggested Bishop Gregory, "a strengthened sense of collegiality among ourselves can only redound to the common good of the Church in the United States which we tend and love."

The bishops discussed a number of proposals and recommendations, including the approval of the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults. They postponed issuing a brief pastoral statement on church teaching concerning the use of the Bible by Catholics. They approved a National Pastoral Initiative on Marriage. They approved USCCB participation in a new initiative called Christian Churches Together in the USA. They also created an Ad Hoc Committee for the Church in Africa and discussed several actions related to Spanish language liturgical rituals. The annual budget of $129.4 million – 1.8 percent increase over the previous year – was approved.

The Conference also considered several items relative to the ongoing response to the sexual abuse crisis. A proposal for the annual collection of data and reporting in the aggregate of new cases of sexual abuse of minors, resolution of ongoing cases, and associated costs was reviewed. The Ad Hoc Committee on Sexual Abuse requested permission to proceed with plans for a 2005 audit.

Pittsburgh Bishop Donald W. Wuerl, chairman of the Task Force on Activities and Resources presented the draft of a series of recommendations to limit the Conference’s projects to those mandated by the Vatican or the bishops themselves. According to Bishop Wuerl, "we try to do too much." The recommendations were approved.

The fall meeting also marked the twenty-fifth anniversary of the pastoral letter on racism, Brothers and Sisters to Us, which was celebrated at the opening liturgy. The document was approved at the November 1979 meeting and declared "racism is a sin. The document further states, "racism and economic oppression are distinct but interrelated forces which dehumanize our society."