WASHINGTON (January 31, 2011)—In response to questions raised about the authority of the local bishop in the interpretation and implementation of the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services (ERDs), conversations have taken place among Sister Carol Keehan, DC, president of the Catholic Health Association (CHA); Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and Bishop Robert Lynch of St. Petersburg, Florida, who is a member of the CHA Board of Directors. Bishop Kevin Vann of Fort Worth, episcopal liaison to the CHA, was also part of the consultation. Following those conversations, Sister Keehan and Archbishop Dolan exchanged letters to underscore the agreement evident in their conversations.

WASHINGTON (January 25, 2011)—The popularity of the U.S. bishops’ website for strengthening and supporting marriage, www.foryourmarriage.org, continued to grow in 2010. According to a report from Google Analytics, the website received nearly half a million visits, a 23 percent increase over 2009.

WASHINGTON (January 24, 2011)—Three bills currently in the U.S. House of Representatives would help ensure that adequate protections are in place for the consciences of taxpayers and health care providers and against federal funding of abortion. In three letters, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, chairman of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), urged House members to support the bills.

WASHINGTON (January 24, 2011) —Pope Benedict XVI has named Bishop Robert Vasa, until now bishop of Baker, Oregon, as Coadjutor Bishop of Santa Rosa in California.

WASHINGTON (January 21, 2011) —The 15th celebration of the annual World Day for Consecrated Life will be celebrated in parishes in the United States the weekend of February 5-6.  World Day for Consecrated Life, traditionally observed February 2, marks an opportunity to highlight the ordinary and extraordinary contributions of consecrated men and women in this country and to pray for vocations to the consecrated life.

WASHINGTON (January 21, 2011)—Over 10,000 worshippers, many of them youth from schools around the nation, are expected to gather in the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception to pray for an end to abortion at the Opening Mass of the National Prayer Vigil for Life, Sunday, January 23, at 6:30 p.m., the eve of the 2011 March for Life. January 22 marks the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion.

WASHINGTON (January 20, 2011)—Bishops and Catholic university presidents across the United States will engage in conversations over the next year as a first step in the 10 year review of The Application of Ex Corde Ecclesiae for the United States. Auxiliary Bishop Thomas J. Curry of Los Angeles, chairman of the Committee on Catholic Education of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), announced the review.

WASHINGTON (January 20, 2011)—Christian Churches Together in the USA (CCT) issued a response to Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” on January 14. The Christian leaders, who gathered in Birmingham, Alabama, January 11-14, to examine the relationship between poverty and racism, noted that no one has ever issued a clergy response to King's famous letter. King's letter was an answer to a message from a group of clergy in Birmingham in 1963. In their “Call for Unity,” the clergy appealed for restraint and "common sense," and a withdrawal of support for the civil rights demonstrations.

WASHINGTON(January 18, 2011)—In a letter to Congress, Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), outlined the “principles and priorities that will guide the public policy efforts” of the Bishops’ Conference during the new legislature. The letter was mailed to all members of Congress on January 14.
           
Archbishop Dolan said he “hopes that this newly elected Congress will advance the common good and defend the life and dignity of all, especially vulnerable and poor persons whose needs are critical in this time of difficult economic and policy choices.”

WASHINGTON (January 15, 2010)—The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) welcomed an Executive Order by President Obama broadening the scope of travel allowed to Cuba and allowing non-family remittances to Cuba.

WASHINGTON (January 14, 2011)—Two separate marriage initiatives in February affirm the priority of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) to support and strengthen marriage, said Bishop Kevin Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Indiana, who oversees the bishop’s efforts in this area.

WASHINGTON (January 14, 2011)—Pope Benedict XVI named Msgr. Mark L. Bartchak, a priest of the Diocese of Erie, Pennsylvania, bishop of the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown, Pennsylvania, and accepted the resignation of Bishop Joseph Adamec, who reached the retirement age of 75. The pope also named Father Christopher J. Coyne, a priest of the Archdiocese of Boston, auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, assigning him the Titular See of Mopta.

WASHINGTON (January 12, 2011)—Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, will address the opening plenary of the 2011 Catholic Social Ministry Gathering, which will be February 13-16, at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington.
           
The theme of the 2011 Gathering is “Protecting Human Life and Dignity: Promoting a Just Economy.” The Gathering is sponsored by 19 Catholic organizations, including the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), and brings together hundreds of Catholic social ministry leaders from national Catholic organizations, local dioceses, religious congregations, Catholic education, health care and others.

WASHINGTON (January 11, 2011)—Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), sent a message of support to Archbishop Louis Kebreau of Cap Haitien, president of the Bishops’ Conference of Haiti, on the first anniversary of the tragic earthquake that struck Haiti one year ago.

WASHINGTON (January 10, 2011) —Linda Hunt has been named associate general secretary and secretary of administration of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). Hunt is currently director of the USCCB Office of Human Resources. She will succeed Bruce Egnew in July. Both Egnew and Hunt have served on the USCCB staff since 1996.

WASHINGTON—( January 10, 2011)  The 2011 Collection for the Church in Latin America is slated for the weekend of January 22-23 in parishes across the country.
           
This year’s theme, Keep Faith, summarizes the purpose of the collection as well the challenges faced by the Catholic Church in Latin America and the Caribbean. Donations to the collection will support evangelization in some of the poorest parts of the Church by promoting lay-leadership programs as well as the education of seminarians and religious brothers and sisters who, together, help keep the Catholic faith alive in the part of the world where the majority of Catholics live. Though the USCCB Subcommittee for the Church in America Latina mostly funds pastoral projects, in exceptional circumstances funds from the collection are used to rebuild the Church where natural disasters and other circumstances have devastated it.

WASHINGTON -- (January 10, 2011) The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) renewed their call for respect for human life, as the nation mourned for those affected by the shooting that killed six, including John M. Roll, the chief judge for the United States District Court for Arizona, and wounded at least a dozen others, including U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords. The incident occurred on the morning of January 8, when Giffords was meeting with constituents outside a supermarket in Tucson, Arizona.

WASHINGTON (January 6, 2011)—As the first anniversary of the earthquake that devastated Haiti last year approaches, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops invites U.S. Catholics to stand in prayerful solidarity with the people of Haiti.

WASHINGTON (January 6, 2011)—In separate letters to the head of Egypt’s Coptic Christians and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the U.S. bishops condemned the recent attacks on Christians, including the New Year’s Day attack on the Coptic Orthodox Church in Alexandria, Egypt, and expressed their solidarity with the victims of religious violence. They also affirmed the ongoing work of the U.S. Church and government to work for the religious freedom of all people, especially vulnerable minorities.

WASHINGTON (January 6, 2011)—The New American Bible, revised edition (NABRE), the first major update to the New American Bible (NAB) translation in 20 years, has been approved for publication. Cardinal Francis George of Chicago, then president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), signed the canonical rescript approving publication on September 30, 2010. The NABRE will be available in a variety of print, audio and electronic formats on March 9, Ash Wednesday.

WASHINGTON  (January 5, 2011)—Archbishop Timothy Dolan, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), has appointed Bishop Salvatore Cordileone of Oakland, California as chairman of the USCCB Ad Hoc Committee for the Defense of Marriage. Bishop Cordileone succeeds Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville, Kentucky, who was elected vice president of the USCCB in November 2010.

WASHINGTON (January 3, 2011)—Pope Benedict XVI has named Father Neal Buckon, 57, as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, and titular bishop of Vissalsa. Father Buckon is a priest of the Diocese of Cleveland and has served as a chaplain in the Army since 1998.