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Bishop Burbidge Discusses Fall Meeting of the US Bishops
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has set forth a series of major initiatives for the coming years, establishing five task forces to develop strategies to address the goals. The five priorities center on cultural diversity, strengthening marriage, faith formation and sacramental practice, life and dignity of the human person and vocations to the priesthood and religious life. The initiatives were agreed upon at the USCCB’s annual fall meeting held November 10-12 in Baltimore.
At the meeting the bishops also extended their congratulations to President-elect Obama, voicing hope for his incoming administration, but cautioned about signs that point to possible obstacles to uniting the country. In a statement issued on behalf of the conference, Francis Cardinal George of Chicago, said the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA), if passed and signed into law, could cause a serious division in the country. The act, as previously proposed, would make abortion the law of the land, overturning hundreds of state laws enacted since Roe v. Wade in 1973.
Most Reverend Michael F. Burbidge attended the USCCB assembly and discusses FOCA and other issues taken up by the bishops in a Diocesan Digest video interview.