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Catholic World News News Feature

Budget, pastoral statements on US bishops' agenda November 13, 2006

The Catholic bishops of the US opened their fall meeting in Baltimore on Monday, November 14, with a reorganization of the episcopal conference as the top item on the agenda.

The restructuring plan for the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), advanced by a planning committee, recommends cuts in budget and staff, and a 50% reduction in the number committees and subcommittees, from 64 to 32. The plan is designed to ease budget pressures on the dioceses that contribute to the USCCB budget. The budget for 2007 is $139 million.

During their meeting the US bishops will also discuss a committee document on proper reception of the Eucharist-- a statement reflecting the inconclusive debate among American bishops that began during the 2004 election campaign. Also on the agenda is a revision of the Lectionary for Mass readings during Advent, guidelines for liturgical music, a statement on pastoral care for homosexual persons, and a statement on contraception in the context of the culture of life. The statement on contraception, if approved, would be the first USCCB statement on that topic since 1968, the year when Pope Paul VI released his encyclical Humanae Vitae.

The bishops were greeted in Baltimore by union protestors, who objected to the selection of a non-union hotel, the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront, for the USCCB meeting. The union members of the USCCB's own news agency, Catholic News Service, are also organizing a protest, calling attention to the fact that they have worked for most of a year without a contract.