US bishops implementing strategic plan

March 23, 2009

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is preparing to implement a strategic plan whose five priorities are strengthening marriage, vocations to the priesthood and religious life, faith formation and sacramental practice, the life and dignity of the human person, and the appreciation of cultural diversity. In November, the bishops will vote on the plan, which will guide the conference until 2011. To assist with the plan’s implementation, Father J. Brian Bransfield, a priest of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and executive director of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' (USCCB) Secretariat for Evangelization and Catechesis, has been named the USCCB’s assistant general secretary. Father Bransfield, 41, holds a doctorate in sacred theology from the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family. Commenting on the presidential election last year, Father Bransfield wrote,“Conscience winces when it hears a candidate claim that he can fix health care, but still agree that a child in the womb can be killed. Conscience knows that if a candidate favors human embryonic stem cell research, which always includes the killing of a human person, then our neighborhoods can never be free of violence-- because we just voted for violence.”

 

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Further information:

• Father Bransfield Tapped to Coordinate Bishops’ Strategic Plan (USCCB)
• Father Bransfield: Voting by conscience (USCCB)