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American Catholic episcopal conference From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is the episcopal conference of the Catholic Church in the United States. Founded in 1966 as the joint National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) and United States Catholic Conference (USCC), it is composed of all active and retired members of the Catholic hierarchy (i.e., diocesan, coadjutor, and auxiliary bishops and the ordinary of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter) in the United States and the territory of the U.S. Virgin Islands.
| |
| Abbreviation | USCCB |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1966 |
| Type | Non-governmental organization |
| Legal status | Civil nonprofit |
| Purpose |
|
| Headquarters | Washington, D.C. |
Region served | United States |
Membership | Active and retired Catholic bishops of the United States |
President | Timothy Broglio |
Main organ | Conference |
| Affiliations |
|
Budget | US$180 million |
| Staff | 300 |
| Website | usccb.org |
In the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the bishops in the six dioceses form their own episcopal conference, the Puerto Rican Episcopal Conference. The bishops in U.S. insular areas in the Pacific Ocean – the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the territory of American Samoa, and the territory of Guam – are members of the Episcopal Conference of the Pacific.
The USCCB adopted its current name in July 2001. The organization is a registered corporation based in Washington, D.C. As with all bishops' conferences, certain[which?] decisions and acts of the USCCB must receive the recognitio, or approval, of the Roman dicasteries, which are subject to the immediate and absolute authority of the Pope.
As of November 2022[update], the president is Timothy Broglio, Archbishop for the Military Services, USA. The vice president is William E. Lori, Archbishop of Baltimore.[2]
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops took its present form in 2001 from the consolidation of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops and the United States Catholic Conference. The USCCB traces its origins to the National Catholic War Council, which was founded in 1917.[3]
The first national organization of Catholic bishops in the United States was founded in 1917 as the National Catholic War Council (NCWC), formed to enable U.S. Catholics to contribute funds for the spiritual care of Catholic servicemen during World War I.
In 1919 Pope Benedict XV urged the college of bishops around the world to assist him in promoting the labor reforms first articulated by Pope Leo XIII in Rerum novarum. In response, the U.S. Catholic episcopate organized the National Catholic Welfare Council in 1919. They also created the first Administrative Committee of seven members to manage daily affairs between plenary meetings, with archbishop Edward Joseph Hanna of San Francisco as the first chairman. Headquarters were established in Washington, D.C.
After a threatened suppression of the National Catholic Welfare Council due to concerns that it over-centralized power away from the individual bishops,[4] the administrative board decided to rename the organization to be the National Catholic Welfare Conference, with the purpose of advocating reforms in education, immigration, and social action.
The initial response of the USCCB to revelations in the 1980s of the sexual abuse of children by members of the clergy was widely criticized both within and outside the church.[5] The reassignment of clergy accused of abuse, in particular, was considered to have allowed the abuse to proliferate.[6] By the early 2000s, following an explosion of public scandals and investigations by journalists, the USCCB commissioned the John Jay Report [7] and adopted a Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.[8] Subsequent decades have seen the USCCB grappling with the fallout,[9] which included dozens of court cases resulting in a financial settlements with the victims in excess of $3 billion.[10] Numerous dioceses declared bankruptcy in an effort to manage the financial impact.[11] The USCCB continues to publish an annual report on its progress in addressing concerns.[12]
During the 2020 George Floyd protests, USCCB president Archbishop José Horacio Gómez issued a statement citing Martin Luther King Jr.'s words that "riots are the language of the unheard".[13]
After some conservative bishops were concerned after Gómez congratulated Joe Biden for his election as US president, Gómez announced that he would form a working group to address the "confusion" that could be caused by Catholic politicians who support policies that are against church teaching.[14][15] On January 20, 2021, the date of President Joe Biden's inauguration, when he became the second Roman Catholic U.S. president, the USCCB sent him a letter authored by President Gómez, which was described as "stinging" by America.[16] While congratulating Biden on his election and stating the Bishop was "praying that God grant him wisdom and courage to lead this great nation and that God help him to meet the tests of these times," the letter also expressed concern that his policies "would advance moral evils and threaten human life and dignity, most seriously in the areas of abortion, contraception, marriage, and gender. Of deep concern is the liberty of the Church and the freedom of believers to live according to their consciences."[16]
The letter was contested by several bishops, including Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, the archbishop of Chicago, who said the message was drafted without consultation of the USCCB's administrative committee; and described it as an "institutional failure" that the bishops did not harmonize their message prior to its release. In what America called a "rare rebuke," Cupich released two statements, one of which said "Today, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops issued an ill-considered statement on the day of President Biden's inauguration. Aside from the fact that there is seemingly no precedent for doing so, the statement, critical of President Biden, came as a surprise to many bishops, who received it just hours before it was released."[16][17]
By April 2021, the working group that was announced by Gómez proposed the drafting of a new document addressing the issue of Communion.[18] On March 30, 2021, Bishop Gómez wrote to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), informing the congregation of the USCCB's plans to draft a document regarding Catholic politicians' worthiness to receive Communion. Cardinal Luis Ladaria, prefect of the CDF, replied on May 7,[19] cautioning the USCCB to preserve unity in discussing anti-abortion issues and not to consider that abortion and euthanasia constitute the only grave issues of Catholic moral teaching.[20][21][22] Ladaria further said that any new provision of the USCCB is required to respect the rights of individual Ordinaries in their diocese and the prerogatives of the Holy See.[23]
The dioceses of the United States are grouped into fifteen regions. Fourteen of the regions (numbered I through XIV) are geographically based, for the Latin Catholic dioceses and the non-territorial Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter (part of Region X). The Eastern Catholic eparchies (dioceses) constitute Region XV.
The National Conference of Catholic Bishops had appointed Bishop James T. McHugh during April 1967 to lead the early formation of what was later to become the National Right to Life Committee. The NRLC was itself formed in 1968 under the auspices of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops to coordinate information and strategy between developing local and state Catholic anti-abortion groups and is the oldest and the largest national organization against legal abortion in the United States with NRLC affiliates in all 50 states and over 3,000 local chapters nationwide.[24] These NRLC affiliate groups were forming in response to efforts to change abortion laws based on model legislation proposed by the American Law Institute (ALI). New Jersey attorney Juan Ryan served as the organization's first president. NRLC held a nationwide meeting of anti-abortion leaders in Chicago in 1970 at Barat College. The following year, NRLC held its first convention at Macalestar College in St. Paul, Minnesota.
In 1990 the USCCB hired the public relation firm Hill & Knowlton to launch a campaign to persuade Catholics and non-Catholics to oppose abortion rights for women.[25]
The USCCB issued the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services.[26][27] It was sued by the ACLU on the grounds that the directive in some cases caused doctors to refuse treatment of women in an emergency medical situation.[28]
In March 2012, regarding the contraception mandate issued as a regulation under the Affordable Care Act, which required that employers who do not support contraception but are not religious institutions per se must cover contraception via their employer-sponsored health insurance. USCCB decided to "continue its 'vigorous opposition to this unjust and illegal mandate'".[29]
In June and July 2012, the USCCB promoted a campaign of events called the Fortnight for Freedom to protest government activities that in their view impinged on their religious liberty.
On June 12, 2020, a committee praised President Donald Trump's administration for changing a Department of Health and Human Services ruling regarding discrimination based on gender identity, saying it "will help restore the rights of health care providers—as well as insurers and employers—who decline to perform or cover abortions or 'gender transition' procedures due to ethical or professional objections."[30]
The USCCB platform on immigration reform includes:[31][32]
In 2017, Bishop Joe S. Vásquez, the chairman of the USCCB Committee on Migration, issued a statement disagreeing with the first Trump travel ban, Executive Order 13769, which restricted people from several predominantly Muslim nations from entering the US and also imposed a temporary ban on Syrian refugee admissions.[33] Later that year, the USCCB president, vice president, and committee chairmen issued a statement condemning the Trump administration's cancellation of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, under which nearly 800,000 young people had applied for protection from deportation.[34]
At the 2018 biannual meeting that was held in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USCCB president Cardinal Daniel DiNardo issued a statement criticizing the Trump administration's policies of family separation and denial of asylum to women fleeing domestic violence.[35]
The USCCB filed an amicus brief in the Supreme Court case of United States v. Rahimi, arguing that protecting the innocent "is a proper consideration" when regulating firearms:[36]
As the Church teaches, and this Nation's historical traditions demonstrate, the right to bear arms is not an unqualified license that must leave vulnerable family members to live in fear. Abused victims are precisely the people whom a just government is tasked with protecting. The Second Amendment does not stand as a barrier to their safety."[36]
As of 2021, the USCCB has been in ecumenical discussion with the Pentecostal/Charismatic Churches of North America (PCCNA), as well as discussing the possibility of future theological dialogue between Pentecostalism and Catholicism.[37]
The USCCB is a member of Christian Churches Together, an Interdenominational fellowship of Christian denominations and organizations in the United States.
The budget for 2018 was US$200 million. Most money is raised through national collections, government grants, and diocesan assessments.[38]
The list of presidents of the USCCB, who are elected by their brother bishops, the diocese or archdiocese they led during their tenure, and their dates of service as president:[39]
The list of vice-presidents of the USCCB, who are elected by their brother bishops, the diocese or archdiocese they led during their tenure, and their dates of service as vice-president:[39]
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