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  Priests, Death Penalty, Lay Ministers on Agenda on Bishops' First Day

By Nancy Frazier O'Brien
Catholic News Service [Washington DC]
November 14, 2005

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The U.S. Catholic bishops opened their annual fall meeting Nov. 14 with encouragement for the nation's priests and preliminary discussion of topics ranging from the death penalty to children's Masses, from lay ecclesial ministers to budget matters.

In his presidential address, Bishop William S. Skylstad of Spokane, Wash., called priests "the treasures who safeguard the church as a eucharistic community" and said they deserve the gratitude, support, esteem and collaborative respect of the bishops.

Attention stemming from publicity about sexual abuse cases and how the church has handled them was not about the "wonder, commitment, dedication and perseverance" of priests, but about "the darkness and sin which overwhelmed some," he said. "It has been a personally painful time for the vast majority of priests who did nothing to deserve that pain."

Bishop Skylstad's request that the bishops show their appreciation for priests by applauding was met with a standing ovation that lasted nearly a minute.

Members of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops then turned their attention to the major agenda items of the Nov. 14-17 meeting, including decisions on a statement about lay ecclesial ministry, a new text of Scripture readings for Masses with children and a new statement calling for an end to the use of the death penalty in the United States.

Also on the agenda were the election of a new USCCB general secretary, the election of chairmen-elect for seven USCCB committees and approval of 2006 priorities, plans and budget for the USCCB.

In the first vote of their 2005 meeting, the bishops agreed to make May 22 an annual Day of Remembrance and Prayer for Mariners and People of the Sea.

The initial presentation of the proposed guidelines on lay ecclesial ministry brought a lively discussion on terminology, with some bishops asking whether the term "lay ecclesial ministry" might lead to confusion with the ministry proper only to those who are ordained.

Called "Co-workers in the Vineyard of the Lord," the document containing the guidelines is a response to one of the most significant phenomena to emerge in the church since the Second Vatican Council -- the rapid growth of lay ministerial leaders collaborating with the priests and deacons as an integral part of parish and diocesan life.

The document to be voted on by the bishops Nov. 15 is the result of several regional and national consultations and has gone through seven drafts over the past year and a half.

The proposed new Lectionary for Masses With Children, adapted to the simpler vocabulary and shorter attention span of preadolescent children, must be approved by two-thirds of the country's Latin-rite bishops and confirmed by the Vatican before it can be used. It is intended to replace the experimental Lectionary that has been in use since 1993.

The bishops have been on record opposing use of the death penalty for 25 years, but the proposed new statement, "A Culture of Life and the Penalty of Death," says the bishops seek "to seize a new moment and new momentum" in their campaign against capital punishment.

"It is time for our nation to abandon the illusion that we can protect life by taking life," the statement says. "Ending the use of the death penalty would be one important step away from a culture of death toward building a culture of life."

Both the children's Lectionary and the death penalty statement were scheduled for debate and vote Nov. 15.

In a departure from previous years, the bishops were to conclude public sessions of their fall meeting by lunchtime Nov. 15 and meet in executive session that afternoon and the two following days.

The evening of the meeting's first day was to feature a concelebrated Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception and a concert, with guests from other faiths, commemorating the 40th anniversary of "Nostra Aetate," the Second Vatican Council's Declaration on the Relationship of the Church to Non-Christian Religions.

The schedule for Nov. 15 called for special presentations by Cardinal Ignace Moussa Daoud, prefect of the Vatican Congregation for Eastern Churches and former patriarch of the Syrian Catholic Church, and by Cardinal Marc Ouellet of Quebec, where the 2008 International Eucharistic Congress is to be held.

Oral reports were scheduled on the bishops' hurricane task force, Ad Hoc Committee on Africa and immigration reform campaign, as well as on the Religious Alliance Against Pornography and the Catholic Near East Welfare Association.