What the U.S. Bishops will be discussing this week in Orlando
WASHINGTON – The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) will gather for the 2023 Spring Plenary Assembly in Orlando, June 14-16. The general sessions will be on June 15 and 16 and will be live streamed on the USCCB website.
The bishops will spend time in prayer and fraternal dialogue with one another prior to the commencement of the general sessions. The public portion of the assembly will begin with an address by Archbishop Christophe Pierre, the Papal Nuncio to the United States. The bishops will also hear from Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, who serves as Conference president.
During the plenary, the bishops will receive updates on the Eucharistic Revival and on the ongoing preparations for the National Eucharistic Congress in 2024, as well as the participation in World Youth Day with Pope Francis in Lisbon this August.
The meeting agenda is not yet finalized and therefore, subject to change, but is expected to include updates, discussions, and votes on a number of items including:
- a consultation of the bishops on causes of beatification and canonization for five diocesan priests of the Diocese of Shreveport who are locally referred to as the “Shreveport Martyrs.”
- a plan for the ongoing formation of priests, which provides some guidance for priests to continue their personal and priestly formation following ordination to the priesthood.
- the priorities that will shape the USCCB’s Strategic Plan for 2025-2028.
- four action items pertaining to the International Commission on English in the Liturgy (ICEL), the commission established for the benefit of bishops’ conferences in countries where English is used in the celebration of the Sacred Liturgy according to the Roman Rite. One of the action items pertains to the revision of the statutes that govern ICEL’s work; the remaining three address the approval of translations: the Liturgy of the Hours and Liturgical Texts for Saint Faustina Kowalska; the Ordinary of the Liturgy of the Hours; and the Proper Texts of the United States of America for the Liturgy of the Hours.
- the development of a process for a new pastoral statement addressing persons with disabilities in the life of the Church.
- the National Pastoral Plan for Hispanic/Latino Ministry
- a revision of Part Three of the Ethical and Religious Directives (ERDs) for Catholic Health Care Services.
Public sessions of the assembly will be held on the mornings of June 15 and 16, and live streamed at: www.usccb.org/meetings — news updates, vote totals, texts of addresses and presentations, and other materials will be posted to this page.
Featured image: Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori, vice president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, gestures in this June 2018 file photo during the bishops’ spring assembly in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The USCCB’s 2023 spring assembly will be held in Orlando, Fla., June 14-16. (OSV News photo/CNS file, Bob Roller)
