This afternoon, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops released its report on the causes of the sexual abuse of minors by Catholic priests from 1950 through 2010. The study was conducted by the John Jay College Research Team at the request of a National Review Board, which was implemented by the USCCB Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.

The report, some 152 pages in length, is “the second of two studies produced by researchers at John Jay College of Criminal Justice about sexual abuse by Catholic priests.” The first report, the Nature and Scope study, was issued in February 2004 and focused on the extent of the cases involving the abuse of minors by priests.

This most recent study has determined the following:

• There is no single “cause” of sexual abuse of minors by Catholic priests. However, the report recognizes that there were significant social and cultural changes in the 1960s and 1970s that resulted in greater levels of deviant behavior throughout society, including among Catholic priests.

On the eve of what is considered to be a symbolic vote to repeal the health care reform legislation passed last year by Congress, the bishop chairs whose committees’ work has been impacted by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act issued the following letter to members of the United States House of Representatives:

Source: USCCB | The above document is the official release from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and was used with permission.

Credit: AP | Julie Jacobson

This morning, in a much anticipated election day, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops surprised all of us by electing Archbishop Timothy Dolan (New York) as the next conference head.

Over recent weeks, it was made clear that there was quite a bit of division within the bishops about who would be the choice to lead the conference. Most of us assumed that tradition would continue, meaning the present Vice-President, Bishop Gerald Kicanas (Tuscon), would be elected President. I guess the bishops aren’t as predictable as we thought.

Archbishop Dolan bested Bishop Kicanas, winning the third ballot by a vote of 128-111.

Shortly after the election, Bishop Kicanas issued the following statement:

USCCB November 2009 Meeting

Back in September, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) released the names of American prelates who had been selected as nominees for various leadership positions within the conference. This week, the nominees for the conference president and vice-president were released.

According to the USCCB statement, the “new president will succeed Cardinal Francis George, OMI, of Chicago, who completes his three-year term at the meeting. His successor assumes the presidency at the end of the meeting.” Below are the names of those candidates (in alphabetical order by last name):

• Archbishop Gregory M. Aymond of New Orleans
• Bishop Stephen E. Blaire of Stockton, California
• Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, OFM, Cap., of Denver
• Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan of New York
• Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas of Tucson, Arizona (currently Vice-President of the USCCB)
• Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Kentucky
• Bishop George Murry, SJ, of Youngstown, Ohio
• Archbishop Edwin F. O’Brien of Baltimore
• Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron of Detroit
• Bishop John C. Wester of Salt Lake City

According to conference by-laws,

2009 Annual Meeting of the USCCB

This afternoon, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a press release detailing the upcoming annual meeting of the conference. This year’s conference gathering will take place in Baltimore, Maryland from November 15th to November 18th. Throughout those four days together, the U.S. bishops will elect several new heads of committees and some key positions within the conference.

According to the news release, the following committees will receive new heads this year:

• Committee on Canonical Affairs and Church Governance: Archbishop Timothy Broglio, Archbishop for the Military Services, and Bishop Randolph Calvo, Bishop of Reno, have been nominated for this position.
• Committee on Catholic Education: Bishop Joseph McFadden, Bishop of Harrisburg, and Bishop David O’Connell, Coadjutor Bishop of Trenton, have been nominated to lead this post.
• Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs: Nominated for this position are Bishop Ronald Gainer, Diocese of Lexington, and Bishop Denis Madden, Auxiliary Bishop of the Baltimore Archdiocese.
• Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis: Nominated for this ever important post are Bishop Paul Coakley of the Diocese of Salina and Bishop David Ricken, Bishop of the Green Bay Diocese.
• Committee of International Justice and Peace: Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of Brooklyn and Archbishop Edwin O’Brien of the Archdiocese of Baltimore have been nominated to lead this position.
• Committee on Child and Youth Protection: The bishops will elect either Bishop R. Daniel Conlon of Steubenville or Bishop Patrick Zurek of the Diocese of Amarillo to this position.

There are also several important conference positions open. During the four day gathering, the bishops will elect a new Conference Treasurer, President and Vice-President. The two bishops nominated for Treasurer are Bishop Paul Bradley of Kalamazoo and Bishop Michael Bransfield of Wheeling-Charleston. The nominations for President and Vice-President of the Conference will be chosen during the assembly.

This year’s assembly will be interesting to say the least. One topic of discussion that is sure to emerge is the implementation of the Third Edition of the Roman Missal. The bishops have already begun their efforts to inform the laity about the upcoming changes to the Mass, which take effect the first week of Advent 2011. While some of the changes do not necessarily make sense, the new translation will “foster a deeper awareness and appreciation of the mysteries being celebrated in the Liturgy.”

As we move towards November, let’s continue to keep the bishops in our prayers.