Welcome to #USCCB22, whose public sessions are about to begin.
I’ll be your livetweeting host and Pillar editor-in-chief JD Flynn.
The public meeting is about to begin.
I’ll be your livetweeting host and Pillar editor-in-chief JD Flynn.
The public meeting is about to begin.
You will notice the bishops are seated at round tables. This is a change, part of a focus on building fraternity among the bishops.
#USCCB22
#USCCB22
Bishops are beginning with midday prayer.
There are more than 250 bishops here at the fall meeting of the U.S. bishops' conference, the assembly of all Catholic bishops in the US. Bishops gather twice annually, once each November in Baltimore, and each June in rotating cities.
The bishops' public session is a day and a half long, preceded and followed by "executive sessions" of bishops only.
Today bishops will elect a new president and vp, hear remarks from nuncio +Christophe Pierre and +Gomez, USCCB outgoing president, hear presentations on new liturgical translations for the rite of the anointing of the sick, and hear about the war in Ukraine for +Gudziak.
+Gomez introduces new bishops since last meeting. He will then ask bps to pray for bishops who have died.
A reminder that this livetweet is a service from @PillarCatholic, and is my best effort to encapsulate and explain the meeting and what's happening.
Most of the time I will paraphrase what bishops say, IN MY OWN WORDS, unless "..." set off by quotation marks.
#USCCB22
Most of the time I will paraphrase what bishops say, IN MY OWN WORDS, unless "..." set off by quotation marks.
#USCCB22
@PillarCatholic If I don't get it right, I'll try to fix it. But hey, I'm only human.
Bishops now praying for the souls of recently deceased bishops, naming each one together as they pray.
Next, a message from the USCCB to Pope Francis will be read, followed by some formalities and welcomes, and then the agenda will be approved.
#USCCB22
#USCCB22
Fr. Mike Fuller, gen sec of conference, reads message:
Dear Holy Father,
we "walk together in a renewed spirit of synodality throughout the Church in the United States."
More than 30k synodal in person and online consultations.
Dear Holy Father,
we "walk together in a renewed spirit of synodality throughout the Church in the United States."
More than 30k synodal in person and online consultations.
"What unites us as followers of Jesus Christ is more powerful than what would seek to divide."
We aim to evangelize the culture, we are united with you in our prayers and efforts to promote a just peace in Ukraine, "our voice is one with Your Holiness."
#USCCB22
We aim to evangelize the culture, we are united with you in our prayers and efforts to promote a just peace in Ukraine, "our voice is one with Your Holiness."
#USCCB22
"We share in your opposition to the death penalty."
"Our nation can both support victims and protect society, in ways that reserve to God the ultimate judgment."
"Our nation can both support victims and protect society, in ways that reserve to God the ultimate judgment."
We also work together against the evil of sexual abuse.
"The pain of our brothers and sisters who suffered from not being heard started a movement....A debt is owed that can never be truly paid, but we continue to offer our apology and our vigilance."
"The pain of our brothers and sisters who suffered from not being heard started a movement....A debt is owed that can never be truly paid, but we continue to offer our apology and our vigilance."
after dignitaries are welcomed, +jhg welcomes media.
(journalists are rarely a dignified lot.)
#USCCB22
(journalists are rarely a dignified lot.)
#USCCB22
+Gomez calling for approval of agenda.
He wants to slightly change schedule, so that +Lori can do a presentation today, rather than tmrw, and then go see his mother. She is 103, and "has taken ill."
+Gomez says bps praying for his mother.
He wants to slightly change schedule, so that +Lori can do a presentation today, rather than tmrw, and then go see his mother. She is 103, and "has taken ill."
+Gomez says bps praying for his mother.
+Gomez says +Malloy will be parlimentarian, and recognizes +Schnurr, who was parlimentarian for a long time.
The parlimentarian makes sure the meeting proceeds according to Robert's Rules of Order and the bishops' conference statutes.
The parlimentarian makes sure the meeting proceeds according to Robert's Rules of Order and the bishops' conference statutes.
Bishops unanimously approve minutes from June meeting.
Minutes are not available to public, if you're wondering.
Minutes are not available to public, if you're wondering.
Bishops are now invited to speak on any of the information reports submitted by committees ahead of the meeting, in what's called the "green book."
No one wants to do so.
We're moving right along here at #USCCB22.
No one wants to do so.
We're moving right along here at #USCCB22.
Now +Pierre will come forward to speak to the bishops.
He gets a standing ovation from the assembly of bishops.
(JD note: I'm not sure if he's a Pillar reader, if you're wondering.)
He gets a standing ovation from the assembly of bishops.
(JD note: I'm not sure if he's a Pillar reader, if you're wondering.)
+Pierre:
Thank you for invitation.
Church in the US continues to journey together.
Thank you +Gomez and +Vigneron for your terms as prez and VB.
Now it is time ot ask "Where are we going as a conference, as a Church?"
Thank you for invitation.
Church in the US continues to journey together.
Thank you +Gomez and +Vigneron for your terms as prez and VB.
Now it is time ot ask "Where are we going as a conference, as a Church?"
+Pierre:
A missionary Church.
We work together cum Petro and sub Petro.
As we move toward the 10th anniversary of Pope Francis, it would be good to reflect on his papacy, to think about where we are and where we are going.
Quoting P.Francis, Pierre says Church must evangelize.
A missionary Church.
We work together cum Petro and sub Petro.
As we move toward the 10th anniversary of Pope Francis, it would be good to reflect on his papacy, to think about where we are and where we are going.
Quoting P.Francis, Pierre says Church must evangelize.
+Pierre:
The Church should go forth to announce the Gospel message, more committed to the missionary mandate of the Gospel than to institutions.
"Pope Francis proposes the image of a poor Church for the poor. A Church close to abandoned and forgotten."
#USCCB22
The Church should go forth to announce the Gospel message, more committed to the missionary mandate of the Gospel than to institutions.
"Pope Francis proposes the image of a poor Church for the poor. A Church close to abandoned and forgotten."
#USCCB22
+Pierre:
P.Francis reminds us that evangelizing is the grace and vocation proper to the Church, she exists in order to evangelize.
Pierre: the pope's encyclicals and the synodal process should be understood in "a missionary key."
Does the Church understand herself this way?
P.Francis reminds us that evangelizing is the grace and vocation proper to the Church, she exists in order to evangelize.
Pierre: the pope's encyclicals and the synodal process should be understood in "a missionary key."
Does the Church understand herself this way?
+Pierre:
What are the fruits that we are seeing from our evangelizing efforts? Do our local Churches exhibit the joy which flows from life in the Eucharist.
The Eucharist engenders joy, and fosters communities that evangelize and are evangelized.
What are the fruits that we are seeing from our evangelizing efforts? Do our local Churches exhibit the joy which flows from life in the Eucharist.
The Eucharist engenders joy, and fosters communities that evangelize and are evangelized.
+Pierre:
Let the Eucharistic revival be an evangelizing moment for the Church in the US.
Let the Eucharistic revival be an evangelizing moment for the Church in the US.
+Pierre:
P.Francis talks about the Church as a field hospital, and that means mercy, and an emphasis on mercy.
Mercy comes to us in the sacrament of penance, but is also made manifest through the corporal and spiritual works of mercy.
#USCCB22.
P.Francis talks about the Church as a field hospital, and that means mercy, and an emphasis on mercy.
Mercy comes to us in the sacrament of penance, but is also made manifest through the corporal and spiritual works of mercy.
#USCCB22.
+Pierre:
Following the Dobbs decision your Walking with Moms in Need initative [USCCB pro-life work of mercy project] shows the merciful love of the Church.
Pope Francis is calling us to be a missionary Church with a sense of the lay co-responsibility for the Gospel.
Following the Dobbs decision your Walking with Moms in Need initative [USCCB pro-life work of mercy project] shows the merciful love of the Church.
Pope Francis is calling us to be a missionary Church with a sense of the lay co-responsibility for the Gospel.
+Pierre:
Evangelii Gaudium, Laudato si, and Amoris, all conclude with a chapter dedicated to the spiritual life.
There is a strong emphasis on discernment in the pontificate of Pope Francis, focused on the discernment of individuals and communities. We must form ppl for that.
Evangelii Gaudium, Laudato si, and Amoris, all conclude with a chapter dedicated to the spiritual life.
There is a strong emphasis on discernment in the pontificate of Pope Francis, focused on the discernment of individuals and communities. We must form ppl for that.
+Pierre:
It is our responsibility to form people so that they have rich fruitful spiritual lives.
"The Spirit spreads holiness everywhere."
#USCCB22.
It is our responsibility to form people so that they have rich fruitful spiritual lives.
"The Spirit spreads holiness everywhere."
#USCCB22.
+Pierre:
Lay ecclesial movements can make assistance to the spiritual formation of the laity.
--
We need to accompany people along the path to live their faith in a way that offers them peace of heart, experiencing true, good, and beautiful.
#USCCB22
Lay ecclesial movements can make assistance to the spiritual formation of the laity.
--
We need to accompany people along the path to live their faith in a way that offers them peace of heart, experiencing true, good, and beautiful.
#USCCB22
+Pierre:
In AL, Pope Francis introduces gradualism, but this is not gradualism of the law, as if there were different laws for different people.
In God's plan, all people are called to respond to God's command with serene confidence in God's grace.
In AL, Pope Francis introduces gradualism, but this is not gradualism of the law, as if there were different laws for different people.
In God's plan, all people are called to respond to God's command with serene confidence in God's grace.
+Pierre:
"We show respect not by abandoning objective standards of morality, but by helping everyone to ...pursue holiness and accept responsibility."
#USCCB22
"We show respect not by abandoning objective standards of morality, but by helping everyone to ...pursue holiness and accept responsibility."
#USCCB22
+Pierre:
In Evangelii gaudium, P.Francis called people to walk together, to rely on each as brothers and sisters, under the leadership of the bishops, in a wise pastoral discernment.
In Evangelii gaudium, P.Francis called people to walk together, to rely on each as brothers and sisters, under the leadership of the bishops, in a wise pastoral discernment.
What does this mean for the way forward for the Church in the US, "what is it that as pastors we have to offer?"
"We can not be paralyzed by the challenges that we face, because the one we offer has the words of everlasting life...It is our task to facilitate encounter w/ him."
"We can not be paralyzed by the challenges that we face, because the one we offer has the words of everlasting life...It is our task to facilitate encounter w/ him."
+Pierre:
Evangelizing is not so much a mandate imposed from outside as the spontaneous action of those who have received the meaning of the Gospel and encountered Jesus."
#USCCB
Evangelizing is not so much a mandate imposed from outside as the spontaneous action of those who have received the meaning of the Gospel and encountered Jesus."
#USCCB
+Pierre:
Those who know Jesus, "also know how to love others....from the unborn, to disabled, to elderly, to those other faiths."
#USCCB22
Those who know Jesus, "also know how to love others....from the unborn, to disabled, to elderly, to those other faiths."
#USCCB22
+Pierre:
Laudato si reminds us to care for our common home, and rejects a "reductive individualism."
"The Church in the US can offer the People of God an integrated vision of the human being and his place in the world -- what the pope has called an integrated ecology."
Laudato si reminds us to care for our common home, and rejects a "reductive individualism."
"The Church in the US can offer the People of God an integrated vision of the human being and his place in the world -- what the pope has called an integrated ecology."
+Pierre:
The Church in the US is beginning to think and live in a synodal way. It is not without its growing pains, but it involves listening, understanding, and patience. It necessarily involves dialogue, in a complete and respectful manner."
#USCCB22
The Church in the US is beginning to think and live in a synodal way. It is not without its growing pains, but it involves listening, understanding, and patience. It necessarily involves dialogue, in a complete and respectful manner."
#USCCB22
+Pierre:
It seems to me that much of our division in this country has come from the fact that ... we have forgotten how to be with each other.
It seems to me that much of our division in this country has come from the fact that ... we have forgotten how to be with each other.
+Pierre:
With patience, we can integrate a dialogue of the People of God, getting away from "crisis thinking" and "crisis talk," but seeing that the Church lives through moments of anguish, in which we can discern the presence of the Lord, the mission, and where we are going.
With patience, we can integrate a dialogue of the People of God, getting away from "crisis thinking" and "crisis talk," but seeing that the Church lives through moments of anguish, in which we can discern the presence of the Lord, the mission, and where we are going.
+Pierre:
May we give a faithfilled answer to the questions "where are we?" and "where are we going?"
Talk over. Bishops clap.
#USCCB22
May we give a faithfilled answer to the questions "where are we?" and "where are we going?"
Talk over. Bishops clap.
#USCCB22
+Gomez:
Thank you. You've given us a big challenge.
Thank you. You've given us a big challenge.
+Gomez:
Thank you for your patience, and thank you for standing by me with your prayers.
I am touched by the opportunities I have had as #USCCB22.
I have much hope for the future.
Thank you for your patience, and thank you for standing by me with your prayers.
I am touched by the opportunities I have had as #USCCB22.
I have much hope for the future.
+Gomez:
We've been through a lot (pandemic, war, etc)
I've been inspired by your faithfulness, bishops.
We've done some beautiful things together.
We united together to pray with the Holy Father during pandemic, dedicated country to BVM, launched Eucharistic revival.
We've been through a lot (pandemic, war, etc)
I've been inspired by your faithfulness, bishops.
We've done some beautiful things together.
We united together to pray with the Holy Father during pandemic, dedicated country to BVM, launched Eucharistic revival.
+Gomez:
The challenge is to maintain some perspective. We live in a noisy media culture, with much division.
I think often of what Pope Francis says:
"Ours is not an age of change, but the change of age."
The challenge is to maintain some perspective. We live in a noisy media culture, with much division.
I think often of what Pope Francis says:
"Ours is not an age of change, but the change of age."
+Gomez:
The trials of this age are spiritual. "There is a struggle going on for the human heart." It's a new apostolic moment.
The trials of this age are spiritual. "There is a struggle going on for the human heart." It's a new apostolic moment.
+Gomez:
We are evangelizer and missionaries.
"It is not inevitable that our country will fall into secularism." Believers are making a beautiful difference in the life of this country.
We are evangelizer and missionaries.
"It is not inevitable that our country will fall into secularism." Believers are making a beautiful difference in the life of this country.
+Gomez:
"All across this land, Catholics bear witness to America's promise that all men and women are created equal."
#USCCB22
"All across this land, Catholics bear witness to America's promise that all men and women are created equal."
#USCCB22
+Gomez:
Now more than ever Church needs a bold pastoral strategy to communicate the Gospel.
But Dorothy Day was convinced that only saints can change the world. And she's right. Saints can change the course of history.
We need to raise up a new generation of saints.
#USCCB22
Now more than ever Church needs a bold pastoral strategy to communicate the Gospel.
But Dorothy Day was convinced that only saints can change the world. And she's right. Saints can change the course of history.
We need to raise up a new generation of saints.
#USCCB22
+Gomez:
I am hopeful about synod on synodality, because it reminds us of our co-responsibility for the mission of the Gospel.
We are in this together, we belong to God, we are called to be saints. And what makes us one is the Eucharist.
I am hopeful about synod on synodality, because it reminds us of our co-responsibility for the mission of the Gospel.
We are in this together, we belong to God, we are called to be saints. And what makes us one is the Eucharist.
+Gomez:
"The Eucharist is the mystery of our Creator's love."
Let's invite our people back, to come and see how much Jesus loves them.
#USCCB22
"The Eucharist is the mystery of our Creator's love."
Let's invite our people back, to come and see how much Jesus loves them.
#USCCB22
+Gomez:
"Let us have one desire: to be where God wants us to be, and do what God wants us to do."
God bless you.
Standing ovation from bishops.
#USCCB22
"Let us have one desire: to be where God wants us to be, and do what God wants us to do."
God bless you.
Standing ovation from bishops.
#USCCB22
+Vigneron: Thank you. I appreciated this, and you've really encouraged us.
Bishops will now elect a new president and vice president.
I'm going to start a new thread, I'll put a link below.
#USCCB22
I'm going to start a new thread, I'll put a link below.
#USCCB22
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