Retired Auxiliary Bishop David Arias of Newark, N.J., left, cast ballots during a vote Nov. 11 at the annual fall meeting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in Baltimore. (CNS photo/Nancy Wiechec)

Coadjutor Bishop Jaime Soto of Sacramento, Calif., speaks from the floor Nov. 11 at the annual fall meeting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in Baltimore. (CNS photo/Nancy Wiechec)

Auxiliary Bishop Salvatore J. Cordileone of San Diego submits ballots during a vote Nov. 11 at the annual fall meeting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in Baltimore. (CNS photo/Nancy Wiechec)

U.S. bishops celebrate Mass Nov. 10 at the annual fall meeting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in Baltimore. (CNS photo/Nancy Wiechec)

Bishop Hebert A. Bevard of St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands applauds an address by Cardinal Francis E. George of Chicago Nov. 10 during the opening session of the U.S. bishops' general fall meeting in Baltimore. (CNS photo/Nancy Wiechec)

U.S. bishops' join in prayer Nov. 10 at the opening session of their general fall meeting in Baltimore. (CNS photo/Nancy Wiechec) (Nov. 10, 2008)

Auxiliary Bishop Francis J. Kane of Chicago smiles Nov. 10 during the opening session of the bishops' general fall meeting in Baltimore. (CNS photo/Nancy Wiechec)

Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory of Atlanta works on his laptop Nov. 10 before the opening session of the U.S. bishops' general fall meeting in Baltimore. (CNS photo/Nancy Wiechec)

Bishop Frank J. Dewane of Venice, Fla., gets an early start Nov. 10 as he looks over documents before the opening session of the U.S. bishops' general fall meeting in Baltimore. (CNS photo/Nancy Wiechec)

CNS FILE PHOTO: U.S. bishops pray at the opening of their fall meeting in Baltimore in 2007. (CNS photo/Nancy Wiechec)

Cardinal George Voices Hope for Obama
Administration,Points to Possible Obstacles
to Our Desired Unity

BALTIMORE—Cardinal Francis George of Chicago, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), voiced hope for the Obama Administration but pointed to possible obstacles to our desired unity, in a Nov. 12 statement at the end of the annual fall assembly of the USCCB.

“The bishops of the Catholic Church in the United States welcome this moment of historic transition and look forward to working with President-elect Obama and the members of the new Congress for the common good of all,” he said.  

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Bishops Approve Icel Gray Book Translation
of the Proper of Seasons and Revised Grail Psalter

BALTIMORE—The U.S. bishops approved the ICEL Gray Book Translation of the Proper of Seasons November 11, at their General Assembly in Baltimore, in a 189-30 vote. The bishops also approved the Revised Grail Psalter by the Monks of Conception Abbey for liturgical use in the United States in a 203-5 vote.

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Bishops approve section of missal translation

BALTIMORE (CNS) -- Despite some continued criticism that the translation is plagued by obscure wording and sentences that are too long, the U.S. bishops approved another lengthy section of the English translation of the third edition of the Roman Missal Nov. 11.

Needing affirmation by two-thirds of the 264 Latin-rite U.S. bishops, or 176 bishops, the heavily amended translation of the Proper of the Seasons -- made up of the proper prayers for Sundays and feast days during the liturgical year -- received 189 votes in favor and 30 against. During the bishops' meeting in Orlando, Fla., in June, the document had failed to get the required two-thirds majority.

Bishop Arthur J. Serratelli of Paterson, N.J., chairman of the bishops' Committee on Divine Worship, called the translation "a step forward in the continual renewal of the liturgy" and said no document was ever likely to receive the unanimous support of the bishops.

"We will never have a completely perfect translation that will meet the tastes of all of us," he said. "But it is time to recognize the great progress that has been made" since the Second Vatican Council.

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Bishops Approve Blessing for Child in the Womb

BALTIMORE—The U.S. bishops approved the Order for the Blessing of a Child in the Womb for use in the dioceses of the United States with a 223-1 vote November 11, at their General Assembly in Baltimore. The bishops also approved a Spanish version of the blessing with a 224-0 vote.

The Blessing of a Child in the Womb was prepared by the USCCB Committee on Pro-Life Activities after receiving requests from dioceses for such a blessing and not finding an existing blessing for a newly conceived child. In March, 2008 a blessing was prepared and submitted to the Committee on Divine Worship. The proposed blessing is distinct from the Blessing of Parents before Childbirth found in the Book of Blessings.

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Chicago Young Adult Receives National Award For Empowerment Of Immigrants

WASHINGTON—Stephanie Garza, 25, was chosen as this year’s recipient of the Cardinal Bernardin New Leadership Award for her remarkable work with immigrant parents through the Southwest Organizing Project in Chicago. Bishop Roger P. Morin, Chairman of the USCCB Subcommittee on the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, praised the choice.

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Bishops instruct task forces to develop church priorities up to 2011

BALTIMORE (CNS) -- The U.S. bishops agreed Nov. 11 to grant five task forces the authority to tackle issues ranging from strengthening marriage to addressing cultural diversity in the church as priority initiatives through 2011.

During the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' fall general assembly, the bishops approved a host of goals for each task force to work on for the next year.

Those task forces are on faith formation and sacramental practice; strengthening marriage; the life and dignity of the human person; cultural diversity in the church; and the promotion of vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life.

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'We are our brothers' keepers,' remind bishops in economic statement

BALTIMORE (CNS) -- At a time of economic crisis, the U.S. Catholic bishops issued a statement Nov. 11 reminding people that "we are our brothers' and sisters' keepers. We are all in this together."

The brief statement issued by Cardinal Francis E. George of Chicago, the bishops' president, noted that "hard times can isolate us or they can bring us together."

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Statement on Economic Crisis

Catholic University sees record-breaking fundraising, enrollment

BALTIMORE (CNS) -- The Catholic University of America has had a record-breaking year for freshman enrollment and for national fundraising, its president, Vincentian Father David M. O'Connell, reported Nov. 10 to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The annual national collection for the university raised nearly $6 million, he said, the largest such collection in the school's history.

Including the $6 million, the university raised $26 million, making "this past year the best fundraising year in history," Father O'Connell told the U.S. bishops gathered in Baltimore for their annual fall general meeting.

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Three bishops honored for their restoration efforts following Katrina

BALTIMORE (CNS) -- Three U.S. bishops from the Gulf Coast area were honored Nov. 10 for the leadership they demonstrated following the vast destruction brought to their region by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

The National Leadership Roundtable on Church Management, the Catholic Church Extension Society and FADICA, or Foundations and Donors Interested in Catholic Activities, presented retired Archbishop Joseph A. Fiorenza of Galveston-Houston and Archbishops Thomas J. Rodi of Mobile, Ala., and Alfred C. Hughes of New Orleans with the awards during a reception at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' fall general assembly in Baltimore.

"These three men have served as an example to all of us for their contributions to the well-being of others," said Kerry A. Robinson, executive director of the National Leadership Roundtable on Church Management, a nonprofit organization that helps Catholic organizations to strengthen governance and promote excellence and best practices in management and finances.

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Bishops' conference opens with nod to historic presidential election

BALTIMORE (CNS) -- The historic significance of the election of President-elect Barack Obama dominated the opening address of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' fall general assembly Nov. 10 in Baltimore.

The bishops also took up consideration of a liturgical service in English and Spanish for blessing children in the womb and took up another lengthy section of the English translation of the third edition of the Roman Missal.

"Symbolically, this is a moment that touches more than our history when a country that once enshrined race slavery in its very constitutional legal order should come to elect an African-American to the presidency," Cardinal Francis E. George of Chicago, USCCB president, said in his opening address. "In this, I truly believe, we must all rejoice."

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Questions at bishops' press conference focus on U.S. election results

BALTIMORE (CNS) -- The sizable victory of President-elect Barack Obama in winning the White House became the central subject of the Nov. 10 press conference during the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' fall general assembly in Baltimore.

"It's 1932 revisited," said Cardinal Francis E. George of Chicago, president of the USCCB, referring to the election in which Democratic candidate Franklin D. Roosevelt overwhelmingly defeated Republican incumbent President Herbert Hoover following the 1929 stock market crash that contributed to the Great Depression. "The American voters have turned to another party."

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Pope's encyclical said to give charities encouragement, guidance

BALTIMORE (CNS) -- Domestic and international charitable organizations have found encouragement and helpful guidance in Pope Benedict XVI's first encyclical, "Deus Caritas Est" ("God Is Love"), said the heads of Catholic Charities USA and Catholic Relief Services at a Nov. 9 workshop for bishops in Baltimore.

One of the themes of the nearly 3-year-old encyclical emphasizes the role of charity as an outward expression of love.

Cardinal Paul Cordes, president of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, the Vatican agency that promotes and coordinates the church's charitable work, summarized the key connections between the 16,000-word encyclical and charity during the workshop preceding the annual fall meeting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

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Bishops to vote on blessing service for children in the womb

BALTIMORE (CNS) -- To fill a gap in existing prayer books, the U.S. bishops took up consideration Nov. 10 of a liturgical service in English and Spanish for blessing newly conceived children in the womb.

Bishop Arthur J. Serratelli of Paterson, N.J., chairman of the U.S. bishops' Committee on Divine Worship, introduced the document on the first day of the fall general assembly of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in Baltimore.

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Plenary Session Address by Cardinal George

Dear Brother Bishops:

At the opening session of the recently concluded Roman Synod on the Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church, Pope Benedict XVI reflected on Psalm 118, that magnificent chorus praising the law, the order, that unites us to God. “The Word of God,” the Pope said,” is solid, it is the true reality upon which to base one’s life. Let us recall the words of Jesus: ‘...Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away’…It is words that create history, it is words that give form to thoughts…the Word of God is the foundation of everything, it is the true reality. And to be realists, we must truly count on this reality.”

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Bishops to Vote on USCCB Priority Initiatives
Through 2011

WASHINGTON—The U.S. bishops will vote on goals and objectives for the work of their five task forces on the priority initiatives of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops through 2011. The vote will take place during their Nov. 10-13 annual fall assembly in Baltimore.

The initiatives and the chair of each task force are: Faith Formation and Sacramental Practice, Bishop Peter Sartain of Joliet, Illinois. Strengthening Marriage, Auxiliary Bishop Gabino Zavala of Los Angeles. Life and Dignity of the Human Person, Bishop Robert Finn of Kansa City, Missouri. Cultural Diversity in the Church, Bishop Ricardo Ramírez of Las Cruces, New Mexico. Promotion of Vocations to the Priesthood and Consecrated Life, Archbishop Thomas Rodi of Mobile, Alabama.

Goals and initiatives to be voted on include the following:

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Bishops to Vote on USCCB Secretary-Elect, Chairs-Elect of Five Committees

WASHINGTON—The U.S. bishops will vote on the secretary-elect of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and chairs-elect of five committees at their November 10-13 General Assembly in Baltimore.

The following bishops were nominated for these positions.

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Information on the Fall General Assembly