The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is the episcopal conference of the

Catholic Church in the United States With 23 percent of the United States' population , the Catholic Church is the country's second largest religious grouping, after Protestantism, and the country's largest single church or Christian denomination where Protestantism is divided i ...

. Founded in 1966 as the joint National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) and United States Catholic Conference (USCC), it is composed of all active and

retired Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload. Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...

members of the Catholic

hierarchy A hierarchy (from Greek: , from , 'president of sacred rites') is an arrangement of items (objects, names, values, categories, etc.) that are represented as being "above", "below", or "at the same level as" one another. Hierarchy is an important ...

(i.e.,

diocesan In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

coadjutor The term coadjutor (or coadiutor, literally "co-assister" in Latin) is a title qualifier indicating that the holder shares the office with another person, with powers equal to the other in all but formal order of precedence. These include: * Coadj ...

, and

auxiliary Auxiliary may refer to: * A backup site or system In language * Auxiliary language (disambiguation) * Auxiliary verb In military and law enforcement * Auxiliary police * Auxiliaries, civilians or quasi-military personnel who provide support of ...

bishops A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

and the ordinary of the

Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter The Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter is a special Catholic diocese for Anglican and Methodist converts in the United States and Canada. It allows these parishioners to maintain elements of Anglican liturgy and tradition in thei ...

) in the United States and the territory of the

U.S. Virgin Islands The United States Virgin Islands,. Also called the ''American Virgin Islands'' and the ''U.S. Virgin Islands''. officially the Virgin Islands of the United States, are a group of Caribbean islands and an unincorporated and organized territory ...

. In the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the bishops in the six dioceses form their own episcopal conference, the

Puerto Rican Episcopal Conference The Puerto Rican Episcopal Conference ( es, Conferencia Episcopal Puertorriqueña) (CEP)
GCatholic.org website. Ret ...

. The bishops in U.S.

insular area In the law of the United States, an insular area is a U.S.-associated jurisdiction that is not part of the 50 states or the District of Columbia. This includes fourteen U.S. territories administered under U.S. sovereignty, as well as three sov ...

s in the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the territory of American Samoa, and the territory of Guam are members of the

Episcopal Conference of the Pacific The Episcopal Conference of the Pacific ( la, Conferentia Episcopalis Pacifici) (CEPAC) is the episcopal conference of the Catholic Church that includes the bishops of several islands in Oceania. The CEPAC is a member of the Federation of Catholic ...

. The USCCB adopted its current name in July 2001. The organization is a registered corporation based in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

As with all bishops' conferences, certain decisions and acts of the USCCB must receive the ''recognitio'', or approval, of the Roman

dicasteries A dicastery (from gr, δικαστήριον, dikastērion, law-court, from δικαστής, 'judge, juror') is the name of some departments of the Roman Curia. ''Pastor bonus'' ''Pastor bonus'' (1988), includes this definition: ''Praed ...

, which are subject to the immediate and absolute authority of the

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

. , the president is

Timothy Broglio Timothy Paul Andrew Broglio (born December 22, 1951) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He has served as Archbishop for the Military Services, USA, since 2008, and as president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishop ...

, Archbishop for the Military Services, USA. The vice president is William E. Lori, Archbishop of Baltimore.

History

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops took its present form in 2001 from the consolidation of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops and the United States Catholic Conference. The USCCB traces its origins to the National Catholic War Council, which was founded in 1917.

National Catholic War Council

The first national organization of Catholic bishops in the United States was founded in 1917 as the

National Catholic War Council The National Catholic Welfare Council (NCWC) was the annual meeting of the American Catholic hierarchy and its standing secretariat; it was established in 1919 as the successor to the emergency organization, the National Catholic War Council. It co ...

(NCWC), formed to enable U.S. Catholics to contribute funds for the spiritual care of Catholic servicemen during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

National Catholic Welfare Council

In 1919

Pope Benedict XV Pope Benedict XV (Latin: ''Benedictus XV''; it, Benedetto XV), born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, name=, group= (; 21 November 185422 January 1922), was head of the Catholic Church from 1914 until his death in January 1922. His ...

urged the

college of bishops College of Bishops, also known as the Ordo of Bishops, is a term used in the Catholic Church to denote the collection of those bishops who are in communion with the Pope. Under Canon Law, a college is a collection (Latin collegium) of persons un ...

around the world to assist him in promoting the labor reforms first articulated by

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...

in ''

Rerum novarum ''Rerum novarum'' (from its incipit, with the direct translation of the Latin meaning "of revolutionary change"), or ''Rights and Duties of Capital and Labor'', is an encyclical issued by Pope Leo XIII on 15 May 1891. It is an open letter, pass ...

''. In response, the U.S. Catholic episcopate organized the National Catholic Welfare Council in 1919. They also created the first Administrative Committee of seven members to manage daily affairs between plenary meetings, with archbishop Edward Joseph Hanna of San Francisco as the first chairman. Headquarters were established in Washington, D.C. After a threatened suppression of the National Catholic Welfare Council due to concerns that it over-centralized power away from the individual bishops, the administrative board decided to rename the organization to be the National Catholic Welfare Conference, with the purpose of advocating reforms in education, immigration, and social action.

Leadership of José Gómez

During the 2020

George Floyd protests The George Floyd protests were a series of protests and civil unrest against police brutality and racism that began in Minneapolis on May 26, 2020, and largely took place during 2020. The civil unrest and protests began as part of internati ...

, USCCB president Archbishop

José Horacio Gómez José Horacio Gómez Velasco (born December 26, 1951) is a Mexican-born American prelate of the Catholic Church. He became the fifth Archbishop of Los Angeles in 2011. He served as Auxiliary Bishop of Denver from 2001 to 2004 and as Archbish ...

issued a statement citing Martin Luther King Jr.'s words that "riots are the language of the unheard". After some conservative bishops were concerned after Gómez congratulated Joe Biden for his election as US president, Gómez announced that he would form a working group to address the "confusion" that could be caused by Catholic politicians who support policies that are against church teaching. On January 20, 2021, the date of President Joe Biden's inauguration, when he became the second Roman Catholic U.S. president, the USCCB sent him a letter authored by President Gómez, which was described as "stinging" by ''America''. While congratulating Biden on his election and stating the Bishop was "praying that God grant him wisdom and courage to lead this great nation and that God help him to meet the tests of these times," the letter also expressed concern that his policies "would advance moral evils and threaten human life and dignity, most seriously in the areas of abortion, contraception, marriage, and gender. Of deep concern is the liberty of the Church and the freedom of believers to live according to their consciences." The letter was contested by several bishops, including Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, the archbishop of Chicago, who said the message was drafted without consultation of the USCCB's administrative committee; and described it as an "institutional failure" that the bishops did not harmonize their message prior to its release. In what ''America'' called a "rare rebuke," Cupich released two statements, one of which said “Today, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops issued an ill-considered statement on the day of President Biden’s inauguration. Aside from the fact that there is seemingly no precedent for doing so, the statement, critical of President Biden, came as a surprise to many bishops, who received it just hours before it was released.” By April 2021, the working group that was announced by Gómez proposed the drafting of a new document addressing the issue of Communion. On March 30, 2021, Bishop Gómez wrote to the

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of the Holy Office in Rome. It was founded to defend the Catholic Church from Heresy in Christianity, heresy and is ...

(CDF), informing the congregation of the USCCB's plans to draft a document regarding Catholic politicians' worthiness to receive Communion. Cardinal Luis Ladaria, prefect of the CDF, replied on 7 May, cautioning the USCCB to preserve unity in discussing

anti-abortion Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life or abolitionist movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in respons ...

issues and not to consider that abortion and euthanasia constitute the only grave issues of Catholic moral teaching. Ladaria further said that any new provision of the USCCB is required to respect the rights of individual Ordinaries in their diocese and the prerogatives of the Holy See.

Regions

The dioceses of the United States are grouped into fifteen regions. Fourteen of the regions (numbered I through XIV) are geographically based, for the Latin Catholic dioceses and the non-territorial Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter (part of Region X). The Eastern Catholic eparchies (dioceses) constitute Region XV. ;

Initiatives

National Right to Life Committee (1968–1973)

The National Conference of Catholic Bishops had appointed Bishop James T. McHugh during April 1967 to lead the early formation of what was later to become the National Right to Life Committee. The NRLC was itself formed in 1968 under the auspices of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops to coordinate information and strategy between developing local and state Catholic

groups and is the oldest and the largest national organization against legal abortion in the United States with NRLC affiliates in all 50 states and over 3,000 local chapters nationwide. These NRLC affiliate groups were forming in response to efforts to change abortion laws based on model legislation proposed by the American Law Institute (ALI). New Jersey attorney Juan Ryan served as the organization's first president. NRLC held a nationwide meeting of

leaders in Chicago in 1970 at

Barat College Barat College of the Sacred Heart was a small Catholic college located in Lake Forest, Illinois, north of Chicago. The college was named after Madeleine Sophie Barat, founder of the Society of the Sacred Heart. Barat College was purchased by De ...

. The following year, NRLC held its first convention at Macalestar College in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Health care

The USCCB are issuing the "Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic

Health Care Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health profe ...

Services" that have in some cases caused doctors to refuse treatment of patients although in an emergency situation. In March 2012, regarding the contraception mandate issued as a regulation under the

Affordable Care Act The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and colloquially known as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Presid ...

, which required that employers who do not support contraception but are not religious institutions ''per se'' must cover contraception via their employer-sponsored health insurance. USCCB decided to "continue its 'vigorous opposition to this unjust and illegal mandate'". In June and July 2012, the USCCB promoted a campaign of events called the

Fortnight for Freedom The Fortnight for Freedom is a campaign initiated by the Roman Catholic bishops of the United States. Events over the course of fourteen days from June 21 to July 4 each year, call upon Catholics to participate in a pledge to religious liberty and ...

to protest government activities that in their view impinged on their religious liberty. On June 12, 2020, a committee praised President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

's administration for changing a Department of Health and Human Services ruling regarding discrimination based on

gender identity Gender identity is the personal sense of one's own gender. Gender identity can correlate with a person's assigned sex or can differ from it. In most individuals, the various biological determinants of sex are congruent, and consistent with the i ...

, saying it "will help restore the rights of health care providers—as well as insurers and employers—who decline to perform or cover abortions or 'gender transition' procedures due to ethical or professional objections."

Immigration

The USCCB platform on immigration reform includes: *Earned legalization for immigrants who are of good moral character to adjust their status to obtain lawful permanent residence after a background check and payment of fines. *A legal path for foreign born workers to enter the U.S. for work in order to alleviate border crossing deaths. *More visas to promote family reunification as well as a reduction in waiting times. *Elimination of some of the penalties in the

Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA or IIRAIRA), Division C of , made major changes to the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). IIRIRA's changes became effective on April 1, 1997. Former United Stat ...

such as the three year and ten year bans on deported illegal immigrants (depending on the length of their illegal stay in the U.S.) *The root cause of illegal immigrations such as poverty and inequality in sending countries needs to be addressed. *Enforcement should focus on illegal immigrants who pose risks to public safety rather than on families seeking employment. In 2017, Bishop

Joe S. Vásquez Joe Steve Vásquez (born July 9, 1957) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church, serving as the bishop of the Diocese of Austin in Texas since 2010. He previously served as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston i ...

, the chairman of the USCCB Committee on Migration, issued a statement disagreeing with the first

Trump travel ban The Trump travel ban (labeled the "Muslim ban" by critics) denotes a series of executive actions taken by Donald Trump as President of the United States. On January 20, 2021, newly-inaugurated president Joe Biden issued a proclamation revok ...

, Executive Order 13769, which restricted people from several predominantly Muslim nations from entering the US and also imposed a temporary ban on Syrian refugee admissions. Later that year, the USCCB president, vice president, and committee chairmen issued a statement condemning the Trump administration's cancellation of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, under which nearly 800,000 young people had applied for protection from deportation. At the 2018 biannual meeting that was held in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USCCB president Cardinal

Daniel DiNardo Daniel Nicholas DiNardo (born May 23, 1949) is an American Cardinal (Catholicism), cardinal of the Catholic Church. He is the second and current archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston ...

issued a statement criticizing the Trump administration's policies of

family separation Family separation is the condition where family members are involuntarily separated from each other, often because of immigration systems, although it can happen for other reasons such as military service or involuntary adoption. Family separation ...

and denial of asylum to women fleeing domestic violence.

Funding

The budget for 2018 was $200 million USD. Most money is raised through national collections, government grants, and diocesan assessments.

List of past and present leaders

Presidents

The list of presidents of the USCCB, who are elected by their brother bishops, the diocese or archdiocese they led during their tenure, and their dates of service as president: # Cardinal

John Dearden John Francis Dearden (October 15, 1907 – August 1, 1988) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Detroit from 1958 to 1980, and was created a cardinal in 1969. He previously served as Bishop of Pittsb ...

Archbishop of Detroit In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

(1966–1971) # Cardinal

John Krol John Joseph Krol (October 26, 1910 – March 3, 1996) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He was Archbishop of Philadelphia from 1961 to 1988, having previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Cleveland (1953� ...

Archbishop of Philadelphia The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Philadelphia is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in southeastern Pennsylvania, in the United States. It covers the City and County of Philadelphia as well a ...

(1971–1974) # Archbishop Joseph Bernardin, later Cardinal, Archbishop of Cincinnati (1974-1977) # Archbishop

John R. Quinn John Raphael Quinn (March 28, 1929 – June 22, 2017) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He was Archbishop of San Francisco from 1977 to 1995 and Archbishop of Oklahoma City (and Bishop of the predecessor Diocese) from 1971 ...

, Archbishop of San Francisco (1977-1980) # Archbishop

John Roach (bishop) John Robert Roach (July 31, 1921 – July 11, 2003) was an American cleric of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, Archbishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis from 1975 to 1995. ...

, Archbishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis (1980-1983) # Bishop

James William Malone James William Malone (March 8, 1920 – April 9, 2000) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Youngstown in Ohio from 1968 to 1995. Biography Early life James Malone was born in Youngstown ...

, Bishop of Youngstown (1983-1986) # Archbishop

John L. May John Lawrence May (March 31, 1922 – March 24, 1994) was an American clergyman of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Mobile (1969–1980) and Archbishop of St. Louis (1980–1992). Early life and education John May was born in E ...

Archbishop of St. Louis The Archdiocese of St. Louis ( la, Archidiœcesis Sancti Ludovici) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church that covers the City of St. Louis and the Missouri counties of Franklin, Jefferson, Lincoln, Perry, ...

(1986-1989) # Archbishop

Daniel Edward Pilarczyk Daniel Edward Pilarczyk (August 12, 1934 – March 22, 2020) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Cincinnati from 1982 to 2009. Early life and education Daniel Pilarczyk was born in Dayton, Ohio, t ...

, Archbishop of Cincinnati (1989-1992) # Cardinal

William H. Keeler William Henry Keeler (March 4, 1931 – March 23, 2017) was an American cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Baltimore, Maryland, from 1989 to 2007 and was elevated to the College of Cardinals in 1994. He previously ser ...

, Archbishop of Baltimore (1992-1995) # Bishop

Anthony Pilla Anthony Michael Pilla (November 12, 1932 – September 21, 2021) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Cleveland in Ohio from 1979 to 1981 and as bishop of the same diocese from ...

Bishop of Cleveland The Diocese of Cleveland ( la, Dioecesis Clevelandensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the northeastern portion of the U.S. state of Ohio. Pope Pius IX erected the diocese April 23, 1847, in ter ...

(1995-1998) # Bishop

Joseph Fiorenza Joseph Anthony Fiorenza (January 25, 1931 – September 19, 2022) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He was the seventh bishop and the first archbishop of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston in Texas, serving from 1985 to 2006 ...

, later Archbishop, Bishop of Galveston–Houston (1998- November 13, 2001) # Bishop Wilton Daniel Gregory, later Cardinal, Bishop of Belleville (November 13, 2001 - November 15, 2004) # Bishop William S. Skylstad, Bishop of Spokane (November 15, 2004 - November 13, 2007) # Cardinal Francis George ,

Archbishop of Chicago The Archdiocese of Chicago ( la, Archidiœcesis Chicagiensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese of the Catholic Church located in Northeastern Illinois, in the United States. It was established as a diocese in 1843 and ...

(November 13, 2007 - November 16, 2010) # Cardinal

Timothy M. Dolan Timothy Michael Dolan (born February 6, 1950) is an American cardinal of the Catholic Church. He is the tenth and current Archbishop of New York, having been appointed by Pope Benedict XVI in 2009. Dolan served as the president of the United S ...

, Archbishop of New York (November 16, 2010 - November 14, 2013) # Archbishop

Joseph Edward Kurtz Joseph Edward Kurtz (born August 18, 1946) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as the archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Louisville, Archdiocese of Louisville in Kentucky from 2007 to 2022. He previously ...

, Archbishop of Louisville (November 14, 2013 - November 15, 2016) # Cardinal

, Archbishop of Galveston–Houston (November 15, 2016 - November 12, 2019) # Archbishop

Archbishop of Los Angeles The Archdiocese of Los Angeles ( la, Archidiœcesis Angelorum in California, es, Arquidiócesis de Los Ángeles) is an ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church (Catholic particular churches and liturgical rites, particularly ...

(November 12, 2019 - November 15, 2022) # Archbishop

, Archbishop for the Military Services, USA (November 15, 2022 - Present)

Vice-Presidents

The list of vice-presidents of the USCCB, who are elected by their brother bishops, the diocese or archdiocese they led during their tenure, and their dates of service as vice-president: # Cardinal

(1966–1971) # Coadjutor Archbishop

Leo Christopher Byrne Leo Christopher Byrne (March 19, 1908 – October 21, 1974) served as the Roman Catholic Coadjutor Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, in Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota. Biography Born in Saint Loui ...

, Coadjutor Archbishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis (1971-1974) # Cardinal John Carberry,

(1974-1977) # Archbishop

, Archbishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis (1977-1980) # Bishop

, Bishop of Youngstown (1980-1983) # Archbishop

(1983-1986) # Archbishop

, Archbishop of Cincinnati (1986-1989) # Archbishop

, later Cardinal Archbishop of Baltimore (1989-1992) # Bishop

(1992-1995) # Bishop

, later Archbishop, Bishop of Galveston–Houston (1995-1998) # Bishop Wilton Daniel Gregory, later Cardinal, Bishop of Belleville (1998 - November 13, 2001) # Bishop William S. Skylstad, Bishop of Spokane (November 13, 2001 - November 15, 2004) # Cardinal Francis George ,

(November 15, 2004 - November 13, 2007) # Bishop

Gerald Frederick Kicanas Gerald Frederick Kicanas (born August 18, 1941) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Tucson in Arizona from 2002 to 2017. He served as the apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Las Cruc ...

, Bishop of Tucson (November 13, 2007 - November 16, 2010) # Archbishop

, Archbishop of Louisville (November 16, 2010 - November 14, 2013) # Cardinal

, Archbishop of Galveston–Houston (November 14, 2013 - November 15, 2016) # Archbishop

(November 15, 2016 - November 12, 2019) # Archbishop Allen Vigneron,

(November 12, 2019 - November 15, 2022) # Archbishop William E. Lori, Archbishop of Baltimore (November 15, 2022 - Present)

References

External links

*
GCatholic.org Bishops of United States

USCCB Statements on Coronavirus
{{DEFAULTSORT:United States Conference Of Catholic Bishops Episcopal conferences Edgewood (Washington, D.C.) Catholic Church in the United States Catholic Church in Washington, D.C. Non-profit organizations based in Washington, D.C. Christian organizations established in 1966 Catholic organizations established in the 20th century 1966 establishments in Washington, D.C.