USCCB Meetings in Baltimore and Washington, DC

Courtesy graphic/USCCB

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This past week, I flew to Baltimore, Md., for committee meetings of the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops (USCCB) and for the board meeting of Catholic Relief Services (CRS). My first meeting was of the Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth Committee. This committee, as you might expect, is very pastorally oriented and seeks to promote those values and programs that support lay involvement in our church, the sacrament of marriage and our youth. One of the issues that took much of our time centered on the erosion of the family as we have known it in our country. Our committee has joined with the Subcommittee on the Promotion and Defense of Marriage and one of the first items we discussed was the effort made by the USCCB to promote healthy marriages and vibrant families in our Church. Several television public service announcements have been produced and will be shown in the near future on television stations throughout the country. Brochures have been published that support the institution of marriage and symposiums planned to study this important sacrament and develop catechesis that will support family life in the church and in our society. The committee also discussed the possibility of designating a "celebrate marriage Sunday." Most likely, we will designate several Sundays for this purpose, choosing Sundays whose themes already pertain to marriage and family life. In addition, the committee also discussed ways of supporting the Defense of Marriage Act, which is currently being attacked in Congress.

I am also on the Subcommittee for Africa and met with the bishops and staff of this committee on Tuesday of last week. The UCSSB gives moral and material support to a host of dioceses on the African continent to support this vibrant and fast growing church. I can assure you that your generous contribution to the Church in Africa is going a long, long way.

Finally, on Wednesday and Thursday of this past week, I joined the CRS board of directors for our regularly scheduled board meeting. It is always edifying to see the incredible number of dioceses that CRS helps throughout the world. Not only does CRS come to the immediate aid of those who are victims of natural disasters, but they are extensively involved in advocacy programs that enable people to fend for themselves for many years to come.

One of the difficult issues we tackled concerns “conscience clause exceptions.”  Currently, there are several laws that allow religious organizations to engage in contracts with the United States government while ensuring that they are not coerced to do anything against their beliefs. One such law is the 2008 Lantos – Hyde Act, which prevents discrimination against organizations that have a moral/religious objection to certain activities in the solicitation, or issuance, of grants. For many years now, CRS has obtained money from the U.S. government from the Presidents Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). At present, CRS is directly treating 30 percent to 70 percent of those with HIV/AIDS throughout the African continent. However, current government policy is eliminating CRS as a possible recipient of funding because the government is requiring comprehensive health programs that contain interventions to which CRS is opposed. This is tragic because CRS is the most effective organization in bringing medication to those suffering from HIV/AIDS and is also able to sustain these programs year after year, unlike other such organizations. We are strategizing to discover ways that we might convince the current administration to follow the already existing laws and allow us to compete for these funds and at the same time have our conscience issues respected. Please keep this important intention in your prayers since many lives depend on our ability to get their medications to them.