United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
Abbreviation	USCCB
Formation	1966
Type	NGO
Legal status	Civil nonprofit
Purpose/focus	To support the ministry of bishops
Headquarters	Washington, D.C.
Region served	United States
Membership	Active and retired Catholic bishops of the United States
President	Archbishop Timothy Dolan
Main organ	Conference
Affiliations	National Council of Catholic Women, the National Catholic Office for Persons with Disabilities, the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Catholic Relief Services
Budget	US$180 million
Staff	300
Website	usccb.org

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, it is composed of all active and retired members of the Catholic hierarchy (i.e., diocesan, coadjutor, and auxiliary bishops) in the United States and the Territory of the U.S. Virgin Islands. In the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the bishops in the six dioceses form their own episcopal conference, the Puerto Rican Episcopal Conference (Spanish, Conferencia Episcopal Puertorriqueña). 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 (Latin, Conferentia Episcopalis Pacifici).^[1]

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 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.

History

National Catholic War Council

Main article: National Catholic War Council

See also: National Catholic Community Service

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.

National Catholic Welfare Council

Main article: National Catholic Welfare Council

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, 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.

NCCB/USCC

Episcopal conferences were first established as formal bodies by the Second Vatican Council (Christus Dominus, 38), and implemented by Pope Paul VI's 1966 motu proprio Ecclesiae sanctae. In order to fulfill the new requirements for national conferences of bishops, the American bishops established — in 1966 — the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) and its secular arm, the United States Catholic Conference (USCC).

As separate organizations with distinct responsibilities, the NCCB focused on internal ecclesiastical concerns while the USCC carried forward work in society at large. The NCCB enabled the bishops to deliberate and respond collectively on a broad range of issues, with work being carried out through various secretariats, standing committees, and ad hoc committees.

On July 1, 2001, the NCCB and the USCC were combined to form the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). The merger resulted in the continuation of all of the work formerly done by the NCCB and the USCC, with the same staff.

The operation, authority, and responsibilities of episcopal conferences are currently governed by the 1983 Code of Canon Law (see especially canons 447–459). The nature of episcopal conferences, and their magisterial authority in particular, was subsequently clarified by Pope John Paul II's 1998 motu proprio Apostolos suos.

Current structure and membership

The structure of the conference (USCCB) consists of 16 standing committees (whose members are bishops) and the departments, secretariats, and offices that carry out the work of the committees. The leaders of these departments, secretariats, and offices report to the general secretariat of the conference.

The membership of the USCCB consists of all active and retired Latin-rite Catholic and Eastern Catholic bishops (i.e., archbishops, bishops, coadjutor bishops, and auxiliary bishops) of the United States and the Territory of the Virgin Islands, but not the bishops of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Territory of American Samoa, and the Territory of Guam. The bishops of the latter four U.S. overseas dependencies belong to other episcopal conferences. In the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the bishops in the six dioceses form their own episcopal conference, the Puerto Rican Episcopal Conference (Spanish, Conferencia Episcopal Puertorriqueña). 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 (Latin, Conferentia Episcopalis Pacifici).^[1]

The USCCB has two semiannual meetings, in November and June. Between these meetings, the conference is governed by the Administrative Committee. There is also an Executive Committee, whose members include the conference president, vice-president, and secretary (all of whom are bishops). The officers of the conference are elected for three-year terms. The conference also elects chairmen and chairmen-elect of the standing committees.

Organizational structure

Programmatic Committees and Related Subcommittees

• Committee on Canonical Affairs and Church Governance — Bishop Thomas John Paprocki
• Committee on Catholic Education — Bishop Thomas J. Curry
• Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life, and Vocations — Archbishop Robert J. Carlson
• Committee on Communications — Bishop Gabino Zavala
• Committee on Cultural Diversity in the Church — Bishop Jaime Soto
• Committee on Divine Worship — Archbishop Gregory M. Aymond
• Committee on Doctrine — Cardinal Donald Wuerl
• Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs — Archbishop Wilton Gregory
• Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis — Bishop Richard J. Malone
• Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development — Bishop William Murphy
• Committee on International Justice and Peace — Bishop Howard Hubbard
• Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life, and Youth — Archbishop Roger L. Schwietz, OMI
• Committee on Migration — Bishop John C. Wester
• Committee on National Collections — Bishop Kevin J. Farrell
• Committee on Pro-Life Activities — Cardinal Daniel DiNardo
• Committee on the Protection of Children and Young People — Bishop Blase J. Cupich
• Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty - Bishop William E. Lori

Executive Level and Management Committees (Officers)

• Administrative Committee (President) — Archbishop Timothy Michael Dolan
• Vice President — Archbishop Joseph Edward Kurtz
• Committee on Budget and Finance (Treasurer) — Bishop Michael Joseph Bransfield
• Committee on Priorities and Plans (Secretary) — Bishop George Vance Murry, SJ
• Executive Committee — Archbishop Timothy Michael Dolan

USCCB departments and programs

Office of the General Secretary

• General Secretary
• Associate General Secretary — Pastoral Ministry and Planning
• Associate General Secretary and Secretary of Policy and Advocacy
• Associate General Secretary and Secretary of Administration
• Assistant General Secretary for Planning

Office of the General Counsel

Pastoral Ministry

• Secretariat of Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations
• Secretariat of Cultural Diversity in the Church
• Secretariat of Divine Worship
• Secretariat of Doctrine
• Secretariat of Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs
• Secretariat of Evangelization and Catechesis
• Secretariat of Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth
• Secretariat of Child and Youth Protection

Policy and Advocacy

• Secretary of Policy and Advocacy
• Government Relations

Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development

• Executive Director
• Office of International Justice and Peace
• Office of Domestic Social Development
• Catholic Campaign for Human Development
• Education and Outreach

Department of Migration and Refugee Services

• Executive Director
• Office of Migration and Refugee Policy
• Office of Refugee Programs

Secretariat of Catholic Education

Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities

Communications

• Secretary of Communications
• Catholic News Service
• Customer and Client Relations
• Media Relations
• Operations and Project Management

Administration and National Collections

• Secretary of Administration
• Office of Finance
• Office of Accounting and Business Services
• Office of General Services
• Office of Human Resources

Office of National Collections

• The Church in Central and Eastern Europe
• Catholic Home Missions
• The Church in Latin America
• Peter's Pence
• The Catholic Relief Services Collection
• The Church in Africa
• Catholic Communication Campaign (promotion)
• The Catholic Campaign for Human Development (promotion)

Other Collections: National Religious Retirement Office

Office for Film and Broadcasting

Office of Information Technology

Pastoral initiatives

In November 2004, the USCCB kicked off the National Pastoral Initiative for Marriage, a multi-year effort to promote traditional marriage values.^{[citation needed]}

Presidents

1. † John Dearden, Archbishop of Detroit (1966–1971; was created a cardinal on April 28, 1969)
2. † John Krol, Cardinal Archbishop of Philadelphia (1971–1974)
3. † Joseph Bernardin, Archbishop of Cincinnati (1974–1977; later became Cardinal Archbishop of Chicago)
4. John R. Quinn, Archbishop of San Francisco (1977–1980)
5. † John Roach, Archbishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis (1980–1983)
6. † James W. Malone, Bishop of Youngstown (1983–1986)
7. † John L. May, Archbishop of Saint Louis (1986–1989)
8. Daniel E. Pilarczyk, Archbishop of Cincinnati (1989–1992)
9. William H. Keeler, Cardinal Archbishop of Baltimore (1992–1995)
10. Anthony Pilla, Bishop of Cleveland (1995–1998)
11. Joseph Fiorenza, Bishop of Galveston-Houston (1998–2001; last NCCB/USCC President and first USCCB President; became an archbishop in December 2004, when the then-Diocese of Galveston-Houston was elevated to a metropolitan archdiocese)
12. Wilton D. Gregory, Bishop of Belleville (2001–2004; later became Archbishop of Atlanta)
13. William S. Skylstad, Bishop of Spokane (2004–2007)
14. Francis E. George, O.M.I., Cardinal Archbishop of Chicago (2007–2010)
15. Timothy M. Dolan, Archbishop of New York (2010–present)

† = deceased

2010 election

At the November 2010 General Meeting in Baltimore, elections were held for President and Vice President. For the first time in the history of the USCCB, and in a break from long-standing tradition, a Vice President standing for the presidency was denied the top post. In those elections, Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York, was elected President — defeating Gerald Kicanas, Bishop of Tucson, 128-111 (54% to 46%) — and Joseph Kurtz, Archbishop of Louisville, was elected Vice President in a runoff against Charles Chaput, Archbishop of Denver, 147-91 (62% to 38%).

Funding

The budget for 2011 is $180 million. Money is raised by assessing the individual dioceses.^[2]

See also

• Catholic Church and politics in the United States
• Catholic Church by country
• Catholic Church in the United States
• Episcopal Conference of the United States of America
• History of Roman Catholicism in the United States
• List of the Roman Catholic bishops of the United States
• List of the Roman Catholic cathedrals of the United States
• List of the Roman Catholic dioceses of the United States
• National Federation of Priests' Councils
• Plenary Councils of Baltimore
• Pontifical North American College
• Religions by country
• Roman Catholic dioceses in the United States (including ecclesiastical provinces)
• The American College of the Immaculate Conception

References

1. ^ ^{a b} See Episcopal conference #Oceania.
2. ^ "Highlights of 2010 USCCB fall general assembly". Orlando, Florida: Florida Catholic. Nov 26-Dec 9, 2010. pp. A10. http://www.usccb.org/meetings/2010Fall/2010-plans-story.shtml. 

External links

• United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
• Giga-Catholic Information — Bishops of United States
• Kinsley, Michael, "Catholic Bishops Issue Hollow Plea for Sympathy", Bloomberg View column, Nov 17, 2011 7:00 pm ET.