(United States Conference of Catholic Bishops headquarters building in Washington D.C.)
Last week I was in Baltimore for four days attending the Annual Fall Gathering of Bishops of the United States. Over the years I have consistently found these meetings informative and interesting, and most of all uplifting and encouraging as well over two hundred and fifty Bishops gather to pray, reflect and consider, and decide issues which are going to impact our Catholic life throughout our country, and in some cases even beyond. Most impressive at least to me is the seriousness with which the Bishops face their responsibilities on behalf of all the Faithful.
In a bi-weekly article I cannot do justice to the wide range of items that were considered, discussed and acted upon. However, there are several I believe you may find of interest.
The first matter I wish to share with you is the Presidential Address offered by the President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Archbishop Timothy Dolan who is Archbishop of the Archdiocese of New York. The reason for my including this talk as a matter of interest is because while it was directed to Catholic Bishops, it could just as easily have been given to high school juniors or seniors or given to the ladies of St. Mary's Women's Sodality. His words were so basic that all could hear it and walk away the better for it.
He began by saying "Love for Jesus and His Church must be the passion of our lives!"
Who of us could argue with that? And yet the reality for all of us, including myself, is how passionate is our love for Jesus and His Church.
He went on to speak of reclaiming "that truth, to restore that luster, the credibility, the beauty of the Church....renewing her as the face of Jesus, just as He is the face of God." The Bishops were most grateful for his words and for the passion with which he spoke and for having the opportunity personally to reflect upon what it means to say "Love for Jesus and His Church must be the passion of our lives!"
Another item I found significant was about a document prepared for us by the Committee on National Collections. This document offered guidelines for dioceses to follow in administering national collections. While the particulars contained in the document probably will be helpful to all, there was a much bigger issue involved. The title of the document itself indicates the substance behind this item. It is entitled One Church. One Mission.
The significant point which is foundational to the matter of National Collections is that commitment to them and participation in them demonstrates the reality that all of us belong to a Universal Church. While we all have immediate responsibilities to our own parishes and dioceses, we have responsibilities to the wider Church. It is all together that we are the Body of Christ. National Collections are first and foremost opportunities to acknowledge our Catholic interconnections with brothers and sisters in the Faith from around the world, especially with those most in need.
Back in 2006 the Spring Meeting of the USCCB spent five days reflecting on the five items the Conference had identified. In the pages of this newspaper I reflected on them with the Faithful. The priorities were Promotion of Marriage, Respect Life and foster its dignity, faith formation especially as connected with Sacramental Preparation, supporting vocations to single life, married life, consecrated life, and ordained life, and recognizing and enriching cultural diversity in the Church.
I mention this because we spent much time on this topic discussing the various areas Bishops thought were true priorities for all of us to commit ourselves to. It is envisioned that this will be more focused at the 2012 Spring Meeting, and then again refocused for the November 2012 Meeting at which time the Conference will embrace a plan for the going forward of the Conference and for the dioceses from 2013 to 2016.
Among items raised up for consideration to be a priority were: promotion and defense of marriage; evangelization; adult faith formation for laity; ongoing formation for priests, deacons, parish staffs, etc.; maintain commitment to Respect for all human life from conception to natural death; and Religious Freedom. We will have to wait for a year to see what will be chosen to be our priorities.
At the end of the list noted above was Religious Freedom, which recently has become an issue in varying degrees to many faith communities including our own Catholic Church. Over the years while there have been at times tensions between the state and religion, it is true more times than not there has been the ability for both to go about their business.
However, in the very recent past to the present moment these tensions have become increasingly challenging. It almost seems elements in some states and in parts of the federal government have changed their approach to religions, especially in permitting them to provide health care and social programs only if they are willing to act against their conscience. Needless to say, this is a very serious threat.
Going forward I sense we will all hear more and more about all this, even some coming from the Bishops. I hope the above provides a look at what kind of items engage the Bishops and the significance these items are for us as Catholics and as Americans.
Lastly, best wishes to one and to all for a happy and pleasant Thanksgiving.
(The above article originally appeared in the Friday, November 25, 2011 issue of the Catholic Universe Bulletin, the official newspaper of the Diocese of Cleveland. It is reprinted here with permission.)