A new leadership vote is on the agenda for the USCCB’s annual conference | Tech Reddy

BALTIMORE – Last year’s fall meeting of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops was marked by a debate over the reception of Communion by anti-abortion politicians. There is nothing on this year’s agenda that is of equal focus, but there are many actions that will affect the future of the Catholic Church in the United States.

At the top of the agenda for the November 14-17 meeting is the election of a new USCCB president and vice president on November 15.

There will also be updates on the synod, the National Eucharistic Revival, and pro-life issues in light of the Supreme Court. Dobbs solution this past summer and amid the crisis on the southern border immigration.

The election of a new USCCB president and vice president comes at the end of a three-year term in which Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles served as president and Archbishop Allen Vigneron of Detroit served as vice president. Normally, a vice president steps into the top role after a term ends, but Archbishop Vigneron appears to be sidelined as he is not on the list.

There are 10 candidates for this role. Many of them are well-known, and some hold leadership positions in the USCCB and its committees. Candidates are as follows:

• Archbishop Timothy Broglio of Military Service; USCCB Secretary.
• Bishop Michael Burbidge of Arlington.
• Bishop Frank Caggiano of Bridgeport, chairman of the USCCB subcommittee on catechism (formerly auxiliary bishop in the Diocese of Brooklyn).
• Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City, chair of the USCCB Committee on Internal Justice and Human Development.
• San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, Chair of the USCCB Committee on Marriage, Family Life and Youth.
• Archbishop Paul Etienne of Seattle.
• Bishop Daniel Flores of Brownsville, chair of the USCCB Committee on Doctrine.
• Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller of San Antonio.
• Archbishop William Laurie of Baltimore, chair of the USCCB Committee on Life Support.
• Bishop Kevin Rhoads of Fort Wayne-South Bend.

The new president of the USCCB will be elected by a simple majority vote. The vice-president is elected from among the remaining nine candidates, also by a simple majority. They serve for a three-year term beginning at the end of the weekly general meeting.

On the first day of the meeting, Archbishop Gomez will deliver his final presidential address.

Another vote on the agenda is to advance the causes of the sainthood of three American women – Cora Evans, Michelle Duppong and Margaret Mary Healy Murphy.

Also on the agenda is a discussion on the USCCB’s Guide to Catholic Voting, “Forming Conscience for Faithful Citizenship.” The debate comes after the midterm elections, in which the church’s key issues — abortion and immigration — seemed to play a big role in how people voted. The discussion will conclude with a vote on how to reissue or redraft the document, which has not changed since 2019.

Archbishop Lori, as USCCB pro-life chair, will provide updates on pro-life issues in the coming period.Roe In the US, abortion law is left to the states.

Auxiliary Bishop Mario Dorsonville, outgoing chairman of the USCCB Committee on Migration, will give a talk on immigration. Fiscal year 2022 — October-September 2021. 2022 — A record number of migrants arrive at the US-Mexico border. Bishop Dorsonville and the committee made clear the need for immigration reform from Congress.

Another item on the agenda is an update on the Russia-Ukraine war by Archbishop Boris Gudziak of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, president of Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv, Ukraine.

As the global initiative moves into the continental phase, Bishop Flores will provide synod updates. And Bishop Andrew Cozzen, chairman of the USCCB Committee on Evangelization, gives an update on the National Eucharistic Revival, less than two years away from the National Eucharistic Congress.

There will also be elected chairs of six USCCB committees — canonical affairs and church governance; Ecumenical and interreligious affairs; Evangelization and catechesis; International justice and peace; Protection of children and youth; and Religious Freedom.

Each bishop-elect is elected chairman for one year before taking over the elected committee at the fall meeting of the following year.