United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

Nielsen Ratings Find Bishops' Media Campaigns on Poverty, Marriage among Most Popular

WASHINGTON—TV public service messages from the U.S. Catholic bishops to raise awareness of poverty and encourage strong marriages were among the most popular in 2007 according to Nielsen Media Research.

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Catholics, Orthodox Bishops Examine Naming of Bishops, Campus Ministry at Alabama Meeting

WASHINGTON—The naming of bishops and the work of campus ministry led topics at the Joint Committee of Orthodox and Catholic Bishops’ 24th meeting in Daphne, near Mobile, Alabama, October 1-3. Archbishop Oscar Lipscomb, retired archbishop of Mobile, Alabama, hosted the meeting. Archbishop Lipscomb and Archbishop Seraphim of Ottawa and Canada, currently serving as Administrator of the Orthodox Church in America, co-chaired the meeting.

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Bishops to Meet November 10-13 in Baltimore;
Agenda Includes Address by Cardinal George;
Election of USCCB Secretary, Committee Chairs-Elect;
Approval of Liturgical Texts

WASHINGTON—The annual Fall General Assembly of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops will be November 10-13, at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront Hotel.

At the assembly, the bishops will hear an address by the president of the USCCB, Cardinal Francis George of Chicago; and elect the USCCB secretary and chairs-elect of the Committees on National Collections, Cultural Diversity, Doctrine, Pro-Life Activities and Communications.

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Cardinal Rigali Urges Respect for Human Life,
Opposition to 'Freedom of Choice' Act

WASHINGTON—In a statement to mark Respect Life Sunday, October 5, Cardinal Justin Rigali of Philadelphia urged Catholics "to help build a culture in which every human life without exception is respected and defended."

"Let us rededicate ourselves to defending the basic rights of those who are weakest and most marginalized: the poor, the homeless, the innocent unborn, and the frail and elderly who need our respect and our assistance," he said.

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Bishops Urge Congress, Bush Administration
to Find Moral Response to Financial Crisis

WASHINGTON—Bishop William Murphy of Rockville Centre, New York, chairman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, urged the Bush Administration and Congress, September 26, to consider the moral aspects of the current financial crisis.

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Synod of Bishops 2008

A Synod of Bishops on the Word of God begins October 5 at the Vatican. Among the bishops from around the world who will participate as delegates at the synod are the president and vice president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Cardinal Francis E. George of Chicago and Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas of Tucson, Ariz., respectively. Visit the new synod pages here on the USCCB Web site to learn more about this special event and follow its progress.

Father J. Brian Bransfield

Philadelphia Priest Named Head of Bishops’ Secretariat for Evangelization and Catechesis

WASHINGTON—Father J. Brian Bransfield, a priest of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, has been named executive director of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Secretariat for Evangelization and Catechesis.

The appointment will become effective in late Spring. Father Bransfield succeeds Msgr. Daniel Kutys, also a priest of Philadelphia, who is returning to the Archdiocese.

USCCB Applauds Proposed
Conscience Regulations From HHS

WASHINGTON—Proposed government regulations to protect the conscience rights of health care professionals and institutions drew applause September 12, from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).

The USCCB commended the regulations in public comments it filed with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The regulations are based on existing federal statutes, some of which were enacted more than three decades ago.

Concerned Over Effects On Families, Communities, Bishops Urge President Bush, Homeland Security To Drop Raids

WASHINGTON— Speaking on behalf of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), Bishop John C. Wester, chairman of the Bishops’ Committee on Migration, urged the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and President Bush to reexamine the use of worksite enforcement raids as an immigration enforcement tool.

Bishops Respond To Senator Biden’s Statements Regarding Church Teaching On Abortion

WASHINGTON—Cardinal Justin F. Rigali, chairman of the U.S. Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, and Bishop William E. Lori, chairman, U.S. Bishops Committee on Doctrine, issued the following statement:

Recently we had a duty to clarify the Catholic Church’s constant teaching against abortion, to correct misrepresentations of that teaching by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on “Meet the Press” (see www.usccb.org/prolife/whatsnew.shtml). On September 7, again on “Meet the Press,” Senator Joseph Biden made some statements about that teaching that also deserve a response.

Church Increasingly Responsive To Domestic Violence, Says Survey

WASHINGTON—Catholic dioceses are increasingly responsive to the reality of domestic violence, according to survey results released in time for the annual observance of Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October.

The survey, Diocesan Responses to Domestic Violence, was conducted last spring. It was sponsored by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth.

Orthodox Jewish-Catholic Statement on Marriage

Many communities within the United States are now engaged in a new conversation on the meaning of the word “marriage”, questioning whether it should describe a union only between a man and a woman. As leaders of our respective faiths, we, as Orthodox Rabbis, communal leaders and representatives of the Roman Catholic Bishops of the United States, wish to affirm our shared commitment to the ordinance of God, the Almighty One, who created man and woman in the divine image (Gen. 1:26-27), so that they might share as male and female, as helpmates and equals (Gen. 2:21-24), in the procreation of children (Gen. 1:28) and the building up of society.

Church Teaching Against Abortion Constant Through Centuries, Says New Resource

WASHINGTON— To help end confusion caused by recent misrepresentations of Catholic Church teaching on abortion, the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities has issued a two-page fact sheet called “Respect for Unborn Human Life: The Church’s Constant Teaching.”

Public debate on the topic was prompted by misleading remarks by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, August 24 in an interview on Meet the Press. On August 26, Cardinal Justin Rigali, chairman of the bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, and Bishop William Lori, chairman of their Committee on Doctrine, issued a statement to correct her remarks. Other Catholic bishops released similar statements.

Bishops respond to House Speaker Pelosi’s misrepresentation of Church teaching against abortion

WASHINGTON--Cardinal Justin F. Rigali, chairman of the U.S. Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, and Bishop William E. Lori, chairman of the U.S. Bishops’ Committee on Doctrine, have issued the following statement:

In the course of a “Meet the Press” interview on abortion and other public issues on August 24, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi misrepresented the history and nature of the authentic teaching of the Catholic Church against abortion.

In fact, the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches, "Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable. Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law." (No. 2271)

In the Middle Ages, uninformed and inadequate theories about embryology led some theologians to speculate that specifically human life capable of receiving an immortal soul may not exist until a few weeks into pregnancy. While in canon law these theories led to a distinction in penalties between very early and later abortions, the Church’s moral teaching never justified or permitted abortion at any stage of development.

These mistaken biological theories became obsolete over 150 years ago when scientists discovered that a new human individual comes into being from the union of sperm and egg at fertilization. In keeping with this modern understanding, the Church teaches that from the time of conception (fertilization), each member of the human species must be given the full respect due to a human person, beginning with respect for the fundamental right to life.

More information on the Church's teaching on this issue can be found in our brochure "The Catholic Church is a Pro-Life Church". PDF Text

USCCB Mission Statement

The mission of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is to support the ministry of bishops with an emphasis on evangelization, by which the bishops exercise in a communal and collegial manner certain pastoral functions entrusted to them by the Lord Jesus of sanctifying, teaching, and governing.

This mission calls the Conference to

Act collaboratively and consistently on vital issues confronting the Church and society
Foster communion with the Church in other nations, within the Church universal, under the leadership of its supreme pastor, the Roman Pontiff
Offer appropriate assistance to each bishop in fulfilling his particular ministry in the local Church

Throughout its website, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops provides links to other websites solely for the user’s convenience. By providing these links, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops assumes no responsibility for, nor does it necessarily endorse, these websites, their content, or their sponsoring organizations.