When the U.S. Catholic bishops meet in Washington in mid-November, they will be asked to approve a first-ever U.S. national catechism for adults and elect a new president to lead them for the next three years.
They will be asked to vote on joining a new national ecumenical association, Christian Churches Together in the USA, which will be known by the acronyms CCT or CCTUSA.
One of the most controversial public issues they have faced over the past year will come up on the floor in the form of a report by their task force on how bishops should deal with Catholic public officials whose policy stands contradict Catholic teachings on fundamental issues such as abortion.
This became a major issue in the 2004 presidential election because the Democratic candidate, Sen. John F. Kerry of Massachusetts, is a Catholic whose public policy stands on abortion and human embryonic stem-cell research are in opposition to church teachings on the sacredness of human life and the obligation of government to defend it.
Same-sex marriage has been another hot-button issue this year with more than a dozen states debating state constitutional amendments to protect the traditional definition of marriage as being between one man and one woman following the court-ordered legalization of same-sex marriages in Massachusetts.
The bishops, who have called for protection of marriage's traditional definition by amending federal and state constitutions, will be asked to approve the writing of a pastoral letter on marriage making it the centerpiece for a multiyear National Pastoral Initiative on Marriage.
The clergy sexual abuse crisis that emerged in 2002 will have a place on the November agenda as the bishops are asked to approve the inclusion, in the annual diocesan child protection compliance audits, of yearly data on new reports of alleged abuse in their diocese, how many cases were resolved during the year and associated costs.
They will also be asked to adopt a contingency plan to assure a 2005 compliance audit of dioceses in case the review and revision of the bishops' child protection charter, which calls for such audits, is not completed by June 2005 as planned.
The bishops have received proposed revisions of the charter, but voting on a revised charter is not on the November agenda. Instead, they are being asked to hold structured consultations on the proposed revisions in diocesan and regional meetings around the country and to mail in the results of those consultations by mid-January so that a final revised draft can be presented for debate and a vote when the bishops meet in June 2005.
The Committee on Liturgy will ask the bishops to approve three Spanish texts for liturgical use in the United States. They are a revised rite for the baptism of children ("Ritual Para el Bautesimo de los Ninos"), a revised rite of matrimony ("Ritual de Matrimonio") and a blessing for girls on their 15th birthday ("Benedicion Al Cumplir los Quince Anos"), which is to be included in future editions of the Spanish-language book of blessings.
As another step to increase U.S. Catholic collaboration with and assistance to the church in Africa, they will be asked to form a new Ad Hoc Committee to Aid the Church in Africa. One of its functions will be to collect and distribute voluntary contributions for the church in Africa, which is young and rapidly growing but financially poor.
Adult Catechism
The proposed "United States Catholic Catechism for Adults" is a 456-page document in draft form sent to the bishops before the meeting.
It follows the four-part general structure of the "Catechism of the Catholic Church" issued by Pope John Paul II in 1992 --- creed, sacraments, moral life, prayer. But it is adapted in many ways to address specific issues, concerns and questions arising from the context in which U.S. Catholics must try to understand and practice their faith.
Each of the 36 chapters opens with a story or lesson of faith. These often draw on examples from U.S. Catholic events or the lives of American Catholics whose names and contributions should be part of the common cultural awareness in the U.S. church. Each chapter ends with a meditation and prayer.
In between are a narrative exposition and application of the teaching of that chapter, sidebars, questions for discussion and a series of brief doctrinal statements on the topic.
If the proposal to participate in Christian Churches Together is approved, it will mark the first time the U.S. Catholic Church becomes a member of such a national ecumenical association of churches.
CCT's purpose is to enable churches and national Christian organizations to grow closer together in Christ, in order to strengthen their Christian witness in the world.
Catholic churches belong to national church councils in 70 countries around the world. The U.S. church has collaborated with but never been part of the National Council of Churches of Christ USA.
The NCC's member churches --- chiefly of the Orthodox and historic Protestant families --- represent only about one-third of U.S. Christians. The NCC has promoted formation of the CCT as a means to promote greater ecumenical understanding and witness among those outside the NCC, especially the Catholic Church and churches of the Evangelical and Pentecostal families.
New officers
At the end of the November meeting Bishop Wilton D. Gregory of Belleville, Ill., completes his three-year term as president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and Bishop William S. Skylstad of Spokane, Wash., ends his term as vice president. Their successors will be elected during the meeting.
Bishop Gregory, elected in November 2001, guided the U.S. church through the greatest crisis it has faced in its history, the clergy sexual abuse crisis that erupted in Boston in January 2002 and rapidly spread nationwide. He also was the first black bishop to be elected conference president.
This year's nominee list for the presidential and vice presidential elections in alphabetical order, are: Archbishop Daniel M. Buechlein of Indianapolis; Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Denver; Bishop Blase J. Cupich of Rapid City, S.D.; Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan of Milwaukee; Cardinal Francis E. George of Chicago; Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas of Tucson, Ariz.; Archbishop William J. Levada of San Francisco; Cardinal Justin Rigali of Philadelphia; Bishop Skylstad; and Bishop Donald W. Wuerl of Pittsburgh. Archbishop Levada and Cardinal Rigali were both ordained priests for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in 1961.
After electing a president the bishops will elect a new vice president from among the remaining nine nominees --- or remaining eight if Bishop Skylstad is not elected president, since USCCB rules bar a bishop from holding the same office for two consecutive terms.
The bishops will be asked to choose between Coadjutor Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann of Kansas City, Kan., and Bishop Dennis M. Schnurr of Duluth, Minn., for treasurer-elect of the conference.
The bishops will select chairmen-elect for 14 committees, a year in advance of taking office.
Two Los Angeles auxiliary bishops are committee chair nominees. Auxiliary Bishop Gabino Zavala and Archbishop John J. Myers of Newark, N.J., are nominated to head Canonical Affairs; Auxiliary Bishop Thomas J. Curry of Los Angeles and Bishop Robert J. McManus of Worcester, Mass., are the nominees nominated to head Education.
The other committees and nominees for chairman-elect are:
---African-American Catholics: Auxiliary Bishops Martin D. Holley of Washington and Joseph N. Perry of Chicago.
---Catechesis: Bishops Leonard P. Blair of Toledo, Ohio, and Donald W. Wuerl of Pittsburgh.
---Ecumenical and interreligious affairs: Bishop William F. Murphy of Rockville Centre, N.Y., and Auxiliary Bishop Richard J. Sklba of Milwaukee.
---Evangelization: Bishops Samuel J. Aquila of Fargo, N.D., and Sam G. Jacobs of Houma-Thibodaux, La.
---Hispanic affairs: Auxiliary Bishop Jose H. Gomez of Denver and Bishop Placido Rodriguez of Lubbock, Texas.
---International policy: Bishop Michael W. Warfel of Juneau, Alaska, and Coadjutor Bishop Thomas G. Wenski of Orlando, Fla.
---Laity: Auxiliary Bishop Richard E. Pates of St. Paul-Minneapolis and Bishop David A. Zubik of Green Bay, Wis.
---Liturgy: Cardinal Justin Rigali of Philadelphia and Bishop Allen H. Vigneron of Oakland, Calif.
---Marriage and family life: Bishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Knoxville, Tenn., and Archbishop Sean P. O'Malley of Boston.
---Priestly formation: Auxiliary Bishop Earl Boyea of Detroit and Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted of Phoenix.
---Relationship between Eastern and Latin Catholic churches: Byzantine Bishop William C. Skurla of Van Nuys, Calif., and Ukrainian Archbishop Stefan Soroka of Philadelphia.
---Science and human values: Auxiliary Bishops John C. Dunne of Rockville Centre and Francis R. Reiss of Detroit.
Bishops will be asked to approve a consolidated USCCB budget of $129.4 million for 2005, about $2.3 million more than the 2004 budget but $2 million less than the 2003 budget.
---CNS |