When they meet in person for their fall general assembly Nov. 15-18 in Baltimore, the U.S. bishops will be voting for a treasurer-elect for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and for chairmen-elect for five standing committees.
The full agenda for their Baltimore meeting has not yet been released, but one item that will be on it for their consideration is a draft document on the "meaning of the Eucharist in the life of the church." They will revisit the discussion on the issue that they began in mid-June at their virtual spring assembly.
The 2020 fall assembly was held virtually because of the COVID-19 pandemic, as were the bishops' spring assemblies in 2020 and 2021.
The nominees for treasurer-elect are: Bishop James F. Checchio of Metuchen, New Jersey, and Archbishop Paul D. Etienne of Seattle.
The treasurer-elect will serve for one year in that capacity before beginning a three-year term in the office at the conclusion of the bishops' 2022 fall general assembly.
The current USCCB treasurer is Bishop Gregory L. Parkes of St. Petersburg, Florida. His term will end in November 2022. The treasurer also is chairman of the USCCB Committee on Budget and Finance.
The five bishops who have been nominated as a chairman-elect for a standing committee are:
-- Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations: Bishop Earl A. Boyea of Lansing, Michigan, and Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila of Denver.
-- Divine Worship: Bishop Steven J. Lopes, who heads the Houston-based Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter, and Archbishop Mitchell T. Rozanski of St. Louis.
-- Domestic Justice and Human Development: Metropolitan-Archbishop Borys Gudziak of the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia and Bishop Thomas J. Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois.
-- Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth: Auxiliary Bishop Robert E. Barron of Los Angeles and Bishop Edward J. Burns of Dallas.
-- Migration: Bishop Mark J. Seitz of El Paso, Texas, and Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski of Miami.
Last November, the bishops voted for chairmen-elect for seven standing committees. They have served for one year in that capacity, and at the conclusion of this fall's general assembly, they will begin a three-year term as the chairman of their respective committees:
-- Priorities and Plans: Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services. The archbishop has been serving as chairman of the committee since becoming USCCB secretary in 2019.
-- Catholic Education: Bishop Thomas A. Daly of Spokane, Washington, succeeding Bishop Michael C. Barber of Oakland, California.
-- Communications: Auxiliary Bishop Robert P. Reed of Boston, succeeding Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of Arlington, Virginia.
-- Cultural Diversity in the Church: Auxiliary Bishop Arturo Cepeda of Detroit, succeeding Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez of Philadelphia.
-- Doctrine: Bishop Daniel E. Flores of Brownsville, Texas, succeeding Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Indiana.
-- National Collections: Bishop James S. Wall of Gallup, New Mexico, succeeding Archbishop Etienne.
-- Pro-Life Activities: Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore, succeeding Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann of Kansas City, Kansas.
