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BALTIMORE — On the second day of the fall general assembly of the U.S. bishops, a proposal to update the conference’s voting guide for Catholics sparked much debate, with several bishops calling for the next iteration of the document to address current political realities and social divisions. .
In the end, the bishops voted to refrain from making significant changes to the document until after the 2024 election. Instead, they draft a preface to the document that covers recent papal teachings and policy developments, then tackle a full “revision” of the document after the election.
Since 2007, the document “Shaping Conscience for Trusted Citizenship” has been published every four years, and in order not to appear partisan at the conference, it is always published a year before the presidential election.
Bishop John Stowe of Lexington said Jan. 6, 2021 that the U.S. Capitol uprising, the COVID-19 pandemic, and national divisions are examples of societal changes that have made the conference “irresponsible,” and he had nothing new to say. , and he called for changes to the document.
Cardinal Robert McElroy of San Diego echoed Bishop Stowe’s sentiments, urging the conference to focus more on the “crisis of democracy” the nation is experiencing.
Cardinal McElroy said: “Our people are angry about this issue and we need to address this question in a non-partisan way that is rooted in our tradition.” “I think if we let this moment pass … I think we’re going to miss what’s really a major problem right now as a nation.”
Other bishops acknowledged that the document was not reaching the people in the first place. Bishop Emeritus Nicholas DiMarzio of Brooklyn said that if a voter’s guide doesn’t address racial divides, it will be difficult to get people’s attention and therefore shape their consciences.
Bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler, Texas, suggested that people — Catholics and non-Catholics alike — make a “faithful citizenship month” every November, where the USCCB encourages people to consider Catholic social teachings.
“We have to do a better job of getting this into people’s hearts and minds,” he said.
After the public session, Oklahoma City Archbishop Paul Coakley, chairman of the USCCB’s Internal Justice and Human Development Committee, told reporters that the bishops acknowledged that not enough people had access to the document. He says it will be important to find new ways for people to access and digest his content.
The Nov. 16 public session also included an immigration update from Washington Auxiliary Bishop Mario Dorsonville, outgoing USCCB Migration Committee chair, who spoke about the importance of continuing to advocate for comprehensive immigration reform.
Bishop Dorsonville noted that the last two years under President Joe Biden were expected to be “the best opportunity in a while” to move toward immigration reform, but little has been done.
Now that Democrats have lost control of the House of Representatives, Bishop Dorsonville said the outlook is even bleaker.
“Millions of people continue to live in the shadows without legal status. Family members remain separated. The most vulnerable will be affected,” he said. “The chaos at the border will continue and the future of our country hangs in the balance without a functioning immigration system.”
Earlier in the day, Bishop Andrew Cozzens of Crookston, chairman of the USCCB Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis, gave an update on the Eucharistic Revival, saying they were able to cut costs in half, from $28 million to $14 million.
Bishop Cozzens added that they have made several trips to Indianapolis to prepare for the 2024 National Eucharistic Congress. According to him, it will be a three-day event, which will have an environment similar to World Youth Days, with catechetical sessions in the morning, a festival atmosphere in the afternoon and 80,000 participants gathered at night.
After starting the Corpus Christi processions across the country in June, the National Eucharistic Revival is still in its first phase taking place at the diocesan level. According to Cozen, the goal of the initiative is to try to “bring people to an encounter with the living Jesus,” which leads to missionary conversion.
Earlier in the public session, eight bishops were elected to fill leadership positions in the USCCB:
- Archbishop Coakley is secretary of the conference and chairman of the committee on priorities and plans
- Bishop Michael Burbidge, Chair of the Pro-Life Committee
- Thomas Paprocki, Bishop of Springfield, Illinois, as Chair-Elect of the Committee on Canonical Affairs and Church Governance
- Bishop Joseph Bambera of Scranton, chairman-elect of the Committee on Ecumenical and Interfaith Affairs
- Charles Thompson, Archbishop of Indianapolis, was elected chairman of the Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis
- Abdallah Elias Zaidan, Bishop of Our Lady Maronite Diocese of Lebanon, was elected as the Chairman of the International Justice and Peace Committee.
- Bishop Barry Knestut of Richmond, Chair-elect of the Child and Youth Protection Committee
- Bishop Kevin Rhoads of Fort Wayne-South Bend has been elected chairman of the Committee on Religious Liberty
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