WASHINGTON—The Vatican has given its “recognitio,” or statement of acceptance, of the proposed U.S. version of the new edition of the Roman Missal. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) now must decide when to authorize its use in dioceses and parishes in the United States.

WASHINGTON—The U.S. bishops called the introduction of a framework on immigration reform by Senate leadership, April 29, an “Important first step” in the process of achieving enactment of comprehensive reform legislation. The framework, developed by Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) and endorsed by Senate leadership, attempts to lay a road map for launching negotiations toward a bipartisan immigration reform bill.

WASHINGTON—“Help Us Connect the World with God’s Word!” is the theme of the 2010 collection for the Catholic Communication Campaign (CCC). The CCC Collection funds a variety of communications projects and this year’s campaign highlights efforts in digital and social media.

WASHINGTON—Students who attend Catholic high schools are more likely to graduate and attend college than students attending other schools, according to The Annual Statistical Report on Schools, Enrollment and Staffing , United States Catholic Elementary and Secondary Schools 2009-2010, a report recently released by the National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA).

WASHINGTON—The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Subcommittee on the Church in Latin America has made public the grantees for its latest funding cycle. In total, $2,777,917 was approved for distribution among 128 projects in 23 countries. Of that amount, $972,869 went to help rebuild the Church’s infrastructure in earthquake ravaged Haiti and Chile. Clergy and religious formation took up the bulk of the remaining awards, while other catechesis and evangelization projects in Central and South America, and the Caribbean also benefitted.

WASHINGTON— In solidarity with the Catholic bishops of Arizona, Bishop John C. Wester of Salt Lake City, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee on Migration, issued a statement April 27, opposing the enactment and implementation of Arizona SB 1070, which criminalizes undocumented immigrants.

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Bishops urge members of the U.S. Senate to come together across party lines to ratify the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) and also welcome the Nuclear Posture Review as a “significant, yet modest, shift toward a world free of nuclear weapons,” said Archbishop Edwin F. O’Brien of Baltimore. He made his remarks, “Moral Reflections on U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy,” April 26, at a symposium on the ethics of the Obama Administration’s nuclear weapons policy, held at The Catholic University of America (CUA).

WASHINGTON—Father Richard Hilgartner, 41, a priest of the Archdiocese of Baltimore and associate director of the U.S. Bishops’ Secretariat for Divine Worship, has been tapped to become head of the secretariat in 2011. The current head, Msgr. Anthony Sherman, plans to return to the Diocese of Brooklyn, New York, in Spring 2011.

The USCCB Office of Media Relations and the Canon Law Society of America will sponsor a seminar on Canon Law for Media, May 25, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at the USCCB, 3211 4th St., NE, Washington, DC 20017-1194. Attendance will be limited to journalists, and registration is on a first come, first served basis.

WASHINGTON—Gregory A. Rapisarda of the Archdiocese of Baltimore is a widowed deacon with four children, one of whom is priest. When he is ordained to the priesthood this year, he and his son will be the first father-son priests to serve in the archdiocese since its founding. Rapisarda is an oldster in a class where the median age is 33. Over half (56 percent) of the 440 men being ordained to the priesthood in U.S. dioceses and religious communities this year are between the ages 25 and 34. Eleven men being ordained are age 65 or older, and young and old alike, the priests of the class of 2010 come from an eclectic array of backgrounds, careers and life experiences.

WASHINGTON—Hundreds of Catholic leaders, including bishops, priests, deacons, religious and laity, will gather June 23-26, at Xavier University, Cincinnati, for a national conference entitled “Marriage-Building Parishes: Blueprints and Building Plans.”

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development has collaborated with eleven Catholic organizations to create a new Web site to help college students and campus ministers promote Catholic social teaching on campus. The Web site, “Transforming Our World: Our Catholic Faith in Action,” can be found at www.usccb.org/campus.

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Bishops’ Secretariat of Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations is initiating a new website on April 25 to be a resource for both laity and clergy in the promotion of vocations. The launch date is the World Day of Prayer for Vocations and Good Shepherd Sunday.

WASHINGTON—Pope Benedict XVI has named Bishop Thomas G. Wenski of Orlando, Florida, 59, as Archbishop of Miami, and accepted the resignation of Archbishop John C. Favalora, 74, from the pastoral governance of the Miami Archdiocese. The same day the pope also named Bishop Thomas J. Paprocki, 57, auxiliary bishop of Chicago, as Bishop of Springfield in Illinois.

WASHINGTON—The vast majority (92 percent) of men being ordained to the priesthood report some kind of full-time work experience prior to entering the seminary, most often in education. Three in five (60 percent) ordinands completed college before pursuing the priesthood, with one in five (20 percent) also receiving a graduate degree. One in three (34 percent) entered the seminary while in college.

WASHINGTON—The popular For Your Marriage Web site (www.foryourmarriage.org) has launched a redesigned look that includes additional content and several new features. The Web site is a major activity under the U.S. Bishops’ priority goal to Strengthen Marriage.

WASHINGTON—Media intending to cover the Catholic Cultural Diversity Network Convocation at the University of Notre Dame, Indiana, May 6-8, can register now with the USCCB Office of Media Relations. Registration is required to gain access to the event. To register, fill out the credential form and return to Mar Muñoz-Visoso, assistant director of media relations, at MMunoz@usccb.org; fax: 202-541-3173; or mailing address: USCCB Media Relations, 3211, Fourth Street NE, Washington, DC, 20017.

WASHINGTON— A United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) national survey of parents about media’s impact on their children finds parents are deeply concerned about inappropriate content  in media and want help from the media industry and government to be able to control it. The Parents’ Hopes & Concerns About the Impact of Media on their Children study was commissioned in response to a notice of inquiry by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

WASHINGTON—The Catholic bishops’ expert on preventing clergy abuse of minors, Teresa Kettelkamp, offered ten tips for child safely to mark Child Abuse Prevention Month.

WASHINGTON—Pope Benedict XVI has named Reverend Chorbishop Yousif Habash, 58, pastor of Sacred Heart Syrian Catholic Church in Los Angeles, as bishop of the Eparchy of Our Lady of Deliverance of Newark for Syrian Catholics. He succeeds Bishop Joseph Younan, who was installed as Patriarch of the Syrian Catholic Church, in 2009, in Beirut.

WASHINGTON—"The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) welcomes the signing of the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) between the United States and the Russian Federation," said Cardinal Francis George of Chicago, President of the USCCB, in an April 8 letter to President Barack Obama.

WASHINGTON— A special Collection for Haiti in Catholic parishes nationwide has raised $58.7 million to date.

WASHINGTON— The relationship between salvation and justice was one of the key topics at the spring meeting of the Faith and Order Commission of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA (NCC).

WASHINGTON—Pope Benedict XVI has named Archbishop José H. Gomez of San Antonio, 58, as Coadjutor Archbishop of Los Angeles.

WASHINGTON—The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Subcommittee on the Church in Latin America has made a $280,000 grant to support a mobile chapels project in Chile. This grant will provide 20 temporary chapels to earthquake-affected dioceses in Chile.