The spring meeting of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) will be held June 15-17, 2006 at the Millennium Biltmore, Los Angeles. The agenda will include discussion and vote on: extending the annual appeal for the Retirement Fund for Religious beyond 2007, adaptations of the Order of Mass, liturgical translations by the International Committee on English in the Liturgy, and a request by the Stewardship Committee to begin drafting a document entitled Stewardship and Teenagers. The bishops will hear reports on the work of Priorities and Plans, on Catholic Relief Services, on their Hurricane Task Force, on a new DVD by the Committee on Vocations, "Fishers of Men," and a report by the Task Force on Catholic Bishops and Politicians.

The bishops will spend a half day on study and reflection on the theme of the NewEvangelization.

The Holy Father has appointed Bishop Donald W. Wuerl of Pittsburgh, as metropolitan archbishop of Washington (area 5,447, population 2,630,894, Catholics 578,796, priests 1,166, permanent deacons 187, religious 1,677). The archbishop-elect was born in Pittsburgh in 1940. He was ordained a priest in 1966 and consecrated a bishop in 1986. He succeeds Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same archdiocese, the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.

The Minnesota Catholic Conference recently released rough figures affecting Minnesotans that could use the attention of our law makers. Currently there are: 68,000 children who lack health insurance; over 13,000 abortions in 2004 alone; more than 200 rivers and creeks are impaired by pollutants; approximately 5,000 people in emergency shelters and transitional housing; upwards of 25,000 kindergarteners are unprepared for school this fall; more than 200 clandestine methamphetamine labs across the state; 1.7 million annual visits to Minnesota food shelves are made. Also, when the Ford Plant closes in St. Paul, there will be nearly 2,000 people out of work. While the Church does not insist that government solve everyone’s problems, it does feel that government should play an important role in helping to build the common good. On this subject, the U.S. Catholic Bishops have stated, "Government has a moral function: protecting human rights and securing basic justice for all members of the common-wealth. Society as a whole and in all its diversity is responsible for building up the common good. But it is government’s role to guarantee the minimum conditions that make this rich social activity possible, namely human rights and justice. This obligation also falls on individual

citizens as they choose their representatives and participate in shaping public opinion. More specifically, it is the responsibility of all citizens, acting through their government, to assist and empower the poor, the disadvantaged, the handicapped and unemployed."

For help contacting your State Representative call 1-800-657-3550, for your State Senator call 1-888-234-1112 or visit the MN Legislature’s Web site at www.leg.mn. For updated information on the work of the Minnesota Catholic Conference, log on to www.mncc.org.