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Bishops at fall assembly approve priorities, plans
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November 18, 2015Retired Bishop David E. Foley of Birmingham, Ala., casts his vote during the 2015 fall general assembly of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in Baltimore Nov. 17.Bob Roller, Catholic News Service
The U.S. bishops Nov. 17 overwhelmingly approved priorities and strategic plans for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops for 2017-2020 in a 233-4 vote.
The document, which was a revised version of a draft presented to them at their June assembly in St. Louis, focuses on five major areas: evangelization; family and marriage; human life and dignity; religious freedom; and vocations and ongoing formation.
In June, after a presentation on the draft, several bishops said the document needed to be reworked to put more emphasis on helping those in need in light of Pope Francis' emphasis on the poor. At that meeting, the bishops OK'd the draft so it could be reworked to incorporate the feedback.
At their general fall assembly in Baltimore, the bishops heard a presentation on the revised document Nov. 16 and voted on it the following day.
In comments on the floor before the vote, there were mixed views about the revised document presented by Archbishop J. Peter Sartain of Seattle, USCCB secretary and chairman of the Committee on Priorities and Plans, along with Archbishop Gregory M. Aymond of New Orleans, USCCB secretary-elect.
Chicago Archbishop Blase J. Cupich said he was afraid the plans seemed "too self-referential" with their emphasis on advocacy for religious freedom and not enough emphasis on global poverty or immigration reform.
Bishop George L. Thomas of Helena, Montana, said he had initially expressed discouragement with the proposed plans but said the revised version, with its mentions of poverty, showed a shift in the wording and a cause for optimism.
The list of USCCB priorities was developed from survey responses from U.S. bishops and the National Advisory Council, a 48-member group that advises the bishops on various issues.
The priorities listed in the document are:- Family and marriage: Urging Catholics to embrace the sacrament of marriage, providing formation for married couples and youths, and reaching out to broken families.
- Evangelization: Going out into communities with the message of Gospel and bringing healing to those who have left the church or who don't attend.
- Religious freedom: Defending it in the public square, advocating for those who have been persecuted and building a support movement beyond the Catholic community.
- Human life and dignity: Rejecting the "throwaway culture" of abortion and euthanasia and emphasizing Catholic social teaching.
- Vocations and ongoing formation: Helping dioceses develop a culture of vocations by providing ongoing formation and renewed awareness of prayer.
Under the topic of marriage and family, the bishops stress that they want to encourage and heal families and "make the advancement of healthy family life a central strategy for combating poverty and for the promotion of social justice, with special attention to the homeless, the poor and immigrants.
The approved revision expanded on the human life and dignity section, emphasizing "the need to reject the throwaway culture of abortion, euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide and to work to eliminate the darkness caused by neglect, poverty, racism and addictions including pornography."
The bishops' priorities and plans also call for study and application of Catholic social teaching "in service to all our brothers and sisters, with special emphasis on advocacy for the poor, disenfranchised, immigrants and refugees."
