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BALTIMORE (CNS) — The U.S. Catholic bishops faced some big issues during their Nov. 13-15 annual fall plenary assembly. Among these issues were immigration and racism and how to raise the national level of discussion on these topics starting in the church pews.
This USCCB meeting was the first for Bishop Milan Lach, SJ, who was appointed apostolic administrator of Parma in June.
The bishops acknowledged the current polarization in the country and within the church, and stressed their responsibility as church leaders to promote immigration reform, educate on justice issues and listen to those affected by “sins of racism.”
Bishop Joe S. Vasquez of Austin, Texas, chairman of the USCCB Committee on Migration, said there needs to be a “path to legalization and citizenship for the millions of our unauthorized brothers and sisters who are law-abiding, tax-paying and contributing to our society.”
The bishops responded with applause and an agreement by voice vote to issue a statement calling for comprehensive immigration reform.
The bishops were keenly aware that their defense of immigrants was not necessarily the view of the U.S. church at large.
Several bishops brought up the notion of prudential judgment — referring to the view Catholics could take on immigration that differs from the bishops — since it is not a specific matter of church teaching.
The bishops who spoke on the floor didn’t buy that argument and said Catholics can’t use it to avoid care for immigrants.
Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski of Miami said the bishops’ defense of immigrants, as brothers and sisters, not as problems, is not only right for immigrants but “for our society as a whole.”
“We can make America great, but you don’t make America great by making America mean,” he added, referring to a slogan of President Donald Trump without naming him.
Bishop George V. Murry of Youngstown, Ohio, head of the bishops’ Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism, said the church must recognize “and frankly acknowledge” its failings. He said the issue has found a “troubling resurgence,” referring to a recent white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, where racial hatred was “on full display.”
Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory of Atlanta said this was a watershed moment where the church could play a leadership role in leading discussions that could bring about healing.
Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston in his first address as USCCB president spoke on health care, taxes and abortion.
“Divisions over health care, conscience protections, immigration and refugees, abortion, physician-assisted suicide, gender ideologies, the meaning of marriage and all the other headlines continue to be hotly debated. But our role continues to be witnessing the Gospel,” he said.
He said the National Catholic War Council, created by the U.S. bishops in 1917 in response to the world refugee crisis after World War I and the forerunner to the USCCB, was formed to address great needs at a time not unlike today.
The cardinal emphasized other modern challenges, such as recent natural disasters and mass shootings.
But the problems of the day should not overwhelm church leaders who should recognize signs of new hope in the church, said the papal nuncio, Archbishop Christophe Pierre, who addressed the bishops at the start of the meeting and encouraged them to make time for prayer amid “burdens of the office.”
The bishops also heard from the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, at a Nov. 12 Mass where he was the main celebrant and the homilist, and at a dinner celebrating the USCCB’s 100th anniversary.
The cardinal told the U.S. bishops that the church needs them today to “bring not only material assistance but also the spiritual balm of healing, comfort and hope to new waves of migrants and refugees who come knocking on America’s door.”
The second public day of meetings examined ways the bishops can continue to uphold the Catholic faith. They discussed the wording in the baptismal rite, a review of catechetical materials and a pastoral plan for marriage and family life that will give Catholic couples and families resources to live their vocation.
They also voted to move forward the sainthood cause of Nicholas W. Black Elk, a 19th-century Lakota catechist who is said to have introduced hundreds of Lakota people to the Catholic faith .
They spoke about the Convocation of Catholic Leaders in Orlando, Florida, this summer and spoke about tapping into the energy that came from that national gathering at diocesan and parish levels.
The bishops identified key issues they are addressing with Congress, including health care, the federal budget and tax reform, and concluded their assembly by mentioning the impact of recent disasters, such as hurricanes and wildfires.
Bishop Lach shared his reflections on his first assembly, which he said was “beautiful, like when brothers meet,” and covered issues both “current and urgent.”
“Eastern Catholics are also part of the Catholic Church, therefore there is a challenge for us, too: What we can offer immigrants and people of different races and cultures?” he said.
“Hospitality in our Byzantine Catholic communities must be lived as a vocation for the here and now,” he said.
Bishop John Michael Botean of the Romanian Catholic Eparchy of St. George’s in Canton, Ohio, outgoing president of the Eastern Catholic Association, said he considers the Eastern Catholic presence at the assembly to be an important platform for Eastern Catholics.
“We have a chance to bring our sense of specific mission in the United States and to bring our voice into the public discourse. It’s a small voice, but an important voice,” he said.
Caption: The Eastern Catholic bishops of the United States comprise Region XV of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. above, they pose for a photo after one of their regional meetings. Bishop Milan Lach, SJ, apostolic administrator of Parma is in the back row, second from the left. (Photo courtesy of Bishop Milan Lach, SJ)
As published in Horizons, Dec. 3, 2017.
