At the start of their annual fall assembly in Baltimore Nov. 13, U.S. Catholic bishops faced some big issues — immigration and racism — straight on and zeroed in on how to raise the national level of discussion on these topics starting in the church pews.
Archbishop Vigneron will succeed New Orleans Archbishop Gregory M. Aymond, who is starting his third and final year of his three-year term.
Bishop George V. Murry, speaking to bishops gathered Nov. 13 for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops fall gathering in Baltimore, said that while racism was not unique to the United States, it “lives in a particular and pernicious way in our country, in large part because of the experience of the historic evil of slavery.”
Bishop Joe S. Vasquez of Austin, Texas, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Migration, told his fellow bishops Nov. 13 that more than 100 U.S. dioceses have participated in the “Share the Journey” campaign launched by Pope Francis Sept. 27.
Protestorseeking dialogue with church leaders to urge them to offer sanctuary to immigrants facing deportation, and another voiced displeasure with church leaders he said support war.
Pope Francis demands of bishops that their mission requires “the passion of evangelization.”
The role of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and other bishops’ conferences around the world is “catholic” — working together to promote the church’s mission, said Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state.
Bishops call for amendments to the current draft of the tax reform bill “for the sake of families” and “for those struggling on the peripheries of society who have a claim on our national conscience.
