Finishing up their business a day earlier than originally scheduled, the U.S. bishops concluded their fall general meeting in Washington Nov. 17 with a flurry of votes on a national catechism for adults, a multiyear pastoral initiative on marriage and a historic decision to join a national ecumenical forum.

On a busy final day of their Nov. 15-17 meeting, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops also voted to gather annual information about new sex abuse accusations against Catholic clergy and other church workers; approved three Spanish-language liturgical changes; and accepted a proposal to streamline the 2005 diocesan audits on sex abuse matters.

But a three-page report from the bishops' Task Force on Catholic Bishops and Catholic Politicians --- originally scheduled for public discussion by the conference --- was presented in written form without comment or discussion, at the suggestion of Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick of Washington, who heads the task force.

The report said the bishops would develop a "Reader on Catholics in Public Life" and that their doctrine and pastoral practices committees have agreed to take up the matter of church teaching on when it is proper for Catholic politicians, and all Catholics, to receive Communion.

The 456-page "U.S. Catholic Catechism for Adults" was written in response to a Vatican request that bishops or bishops' conferences develop such catechisms to complement the universal "Catechism of the Catholic Church" issued in 1992 by Pope John Paul II. (See story, page 9.)

The marriage initiative, approved by a 195-20 vote, will begin with a survey of bishops about the issues they want addressed, followed by a symposium of theologians and social scientists, focus groups of lay people and sessions with pastoral leaders and bishops' conference committees, and lead to a pastoral letter on marriage in 2007.

"We can help to create a positive climate that places healthy marriages at the heart of strong families, a strong nation and a strong and holy church," said Bishop J. Kevin Boland of Savannah, Ga., chairman of the Committee on Marriage and Family Life. "This is a pastoral moment we should seize upon."

The proposal to join Christian Churches Together in the USA, which passed 151-73, marks the first time that the U.S. Catholic Church will be a partner church in such a national ecumenical body, although Catholic churches in about 70 other countries belong to national councils of churches or similar bodies.

Bishop Stephen E. Blaire of Stockton, Calif., chairman of the Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, called the new organization "a forum for participation" through which Christian churches can "pray together, grow in understanding together and witness together."

The bishops also took up two proposals related to their "Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People." The gathering of annual data from dioceses was approved by a 137-85 vote, while a related proposal allowing for fewer on-site inspections and more self-reporting in diocesan audits passed by a vote of 189-35.

Hispanic rituals

The Spanish-language liturgical texts approved Nov. 17 were designed to formally incorporate important Latin American rituals into U.S. church services.

These include a blessing ceremony for the "quinceanera," a popular celebration among Hispanics that takes place when a girl is 15 to mark her passage from childhood to adolescence; an infant baptismal rite; and additions to the marriage liturgy that incorporate traditions popular mostly in Mexico, Central America and Puerto Rico.

The Nov. 17 votes on the "quinceanera" and the additions to the marriage liturgy were unanimous, while the baptismal rite passed by a 208-1 vote.

Bishop Ricardo Ramirez of Las Cruces, N.M., in a floor comment, noted that the quinceanera and marriage traditions already are ingrained in Hispanic Catholic communities and approving the texts formalizes long-standing practices.

The additions related to marriage include:

---The exchange of "arras," special coins symbolizing the couple's pledge to be good stewards in the new household.

---The placing of the "lazo," a double-looped rope or large rosary or garland, over the bride and groom symbolizing the unity of the marriage.

---The "velacion," in which a large veil or shawl is placed completely over the bride and over the shoulders of the groom to symbolize that the bride is the center of the new home the couple is about to establish.

These rituals have been used by Hispanics in U.S. liturgical services but without standardized texts. Spanish-language texts were often borrowed from Latin American countries where these rituals are officially incorporated into liturgical services.

Father Juan Sosa told CNS that including these Hispanic traditions in the U.S. liturgy recognizes what is already happening in the Hispanic Catholic community. The priest is a member of the bishops' subcommittee on Hispanic liturgy, which helped draft the texts.

These traditions symbolize important Christian concepts, Father Sosa added. "The 'arras' symbolize an exchanging of equality between the spouses in household stewardship. It is the first offering of the newlywed couple to God."

The "lazo" and the "velacion" symbolize the "binding together of what God has joined," he said.

The approved texts are part of a long-term project by the bishops to translate into Spanish all the English-language liturgical books approved for use in the United States. The project involves bilingual editions of the books with Spanish on one side of the page and English on the other.

The purpose of bilingual editions is to facilitate their use by English-speaking priests who have a limited command of Spanish and Spanish-speaking priests who have a limited use of English, said Chicago Cardinal Francis E. George in an explanatory note sent to the bishops on the liturgical texts. The cardinal was chairman of the U.S. bishops' liturgy committee, which is supervising the translations.

Father Sosa said that the bilingual books also will make it easier to perform bilingual services in increasingly multicultural U.S. parishes.

The "quinceanera" texts provide for blessing ceremonies that can be performed within the Mass or as a separate ceremony.

Cardinal George's explanatory note said that Hispanic tradition calls for a girl's 15th birthday to be celebrated by going to church and asking for God's blessing as she enters a new stage of life. It provides a special time for the girl's family and the entire parish "to prayerfully join with youth in making a commitment to God and the church," the cardinal's note said.

The blessing ceremony includes the 15-year-old girl making a commitment to God and Mary to live her life according to Christ's teachings. It also has the assembly join her in reciting a renewal of baptismal vows.

The "lazo," "arras" and "velacion" texts include marriage services performed during Mass, outside of Mass and when only one of the couple is Catholic.

Other business

The bishops overwhelmingly approved a series of recommendations aimed at limiting the conference's projects to those mandated by the Vatican or the bishops themselves.

The conference "has taken on too many projects. We try to do too much," said Bishop Donald W. Wuerl of Pittsburgh, chairman of the bishops' Task Force on Activities and Resources, which drafted the recommendations.

On Nov. 15, the bishops approved a $129.4 million budget for 2005 --- 1.8 percent higher than the previous year's budget --- and agreed to create an ad hoc committee to aid the church in Africa, which would collect and distribute contributions for the church in Africa, using staff and resources from a handful of offices to manage the effort.

Bishop William S. Skylstad of Spokane, Wash., was elected to a three-year term as the new USCCB president, and Cardinal Francis E. George of Chicago was elected vice president.

In the meeting's closing press conference Nov. 17, Bishop Skylstad said the past three years have been "a tough time for bishops" because of the clergy sex abuse crisis, but he said the bishops now wished to give greater time and attention to such matters as evangelization, catechesis, the sacraments and Mass attendance.

"We need to address those issues, rather than just processing documents," he said.

The bishops also authorized Bishop Gregory to issue a statement on their behalf calling on the United States and the international community to provide sufficient support to the African Union to stop the violence in western Sudan's Darfur region.

Contributing to this story were Nancy Frazier O'Brien, Patricia Zapor, Agostino Bono and Jerry Filteau.