Tag: NCCB

Episcopal Conferences: A Question Of Purpose

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Episcopal Conferences: A Question of Purpose

W. H. Marshner

Episcopal conferences grew up with little or no theory behind them. Invented here and there for local reasons, they were marked off from synods and councils by expensive traits: the bishops had to meet on an annual schedule, with by-laws and elected officers, and with the interim support of a permanent staff. Everything seemed affordable in the golden years of Pius XII and John XXIII, and so the creation of more conferences was strongly recommended at Vatican II (especially in the decree Christus Dominus). Before long about a hundred of them had come into existence throughout the world.

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Episcopal Conferences And Teaching Authority

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EPISCOPAL CONFERENCES AND TEACHING AUTHORITY

by William H. Marshner

The Light
Vol. V No. 10, October 1988
ANGELA GRIMM, Editor
The Catholic Center
721 Second Street, N.E.
Washington, D.C. 20002
(202)546-3004
A Non-Profit, Tax-Exempt Educational Organization

A key item on the agenda of the meeting of the U.S. bishops next month is the Vatican’s draft guidelines on the theological and juridical nature of episcopal conferences. The central question up for debate is whether episcopal conferences, such as the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, possess any magisterial teaching authority of their own.
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Bicentennial Alert

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Bicentennial Alert

By WILLIAM H. MARSHNER

THE WANDERER
February 20, 1975

If you, the reader, are in basic agreement with The Wanderer’s understanding of Catholic social doctrine, and if you live within striking distance of one of these five cities: San Antonio, St. Paul, Atlanta, Sacramento, or Newark, then Holy Church needs you badly.

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March For Life A Massive Success

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March For Life A Massive Success

By WILLIAM H. MARSHNER

THE WANDERER
Our Second Century of Lay Apostolate
January 30, 1975

WASHINGTON, D.C. — More of everything — more people, more roses, more eminent speakers — marked the second “March for Life,” Jan. 22nd, 1975, as a massive success. On the western steps of the U.S. Capitol, it was part politics, part revival, and part hootenanny, as an estimated 30,000 to 50,000 people sang, clapped, and shouted this single message: “Give Life a Chance.”

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Typecasting

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Typecasting

By W.H. MARSHNER

THE WANDERER
December 5, 1974

On Monday, Nov. 18th, at the noon press conference, Bishop James Rausch made an excellent statement which deserves wider reporting than it is likely to receive. As General Secretary of the NCCB-USCC, Bishop Rausch was asked to comment on the concerns which are being expressed by Catholics today and the apparent fact that most of the groups petitioning the Bishops are voicing so-called conservative concerns (dogma, catechetics) rather than liberal ones (social action). Bishop Rausch replied that he rejects the “typecasting of concerns as Right-wing or Left-wing.” From The Wanderer’s point of view, this Bishop, who has received his share of knocks in our pages, could hardly have made a wiser or more timely point.

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At the Bishops’ Meeting Meeting… Bishops Elect Bernardin, Carberry

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AT THE BISHOPS’ MEETING… Bishops Elect Bernardin, Carberry

By WILLIAM H. MARSHNER

THE WANDERER
November 28, 1974

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB), in balloting that lasted the whole of Tuesday morning, Nov. 19th, has elected Archbishop Joseph L. Bernardin of Cincinnati as president and John Joseph Cardinal Carberry, Archbishop of St. Louis, as vice president. Both terms are for three years.

The new officers replace the outgoing president, John Cardinal Krol of Philadelphia and the recently deceased vice president, Archbishop Leo C. Byrne of St. Paul-Minneapolis.

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Froelich Amends Community Services Act

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Froelich Amends Community Services Act

By WILLIAM H. MARSHNER

THE WANDERER
June 6, 1974

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Harold Froelich (R., Wis.) has succeeded in attaching an anti-abortion amendment to the mammoth Community Services Act of 1974 (HR 14449). This act, passed by the House on May 29th, by a margin of 331 to 53, would resuscitate all of the old OEO anti-poverty programs, including Family Planning and Legal Services, by transferring them to a new agency to be created in HEW and to be called the Community Action Administration.

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Ecumenism in Crisis

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Ecumenism in Crisis:

Some Catholic-Political Considerations

W. H. MARSHNER

Triumph
Vol. VIII No. 4
April 1973

The question whether the Catholic Church in this country should join the National Council of Churches is now in the final stages of study. At the same time, all ecumenical undertakings have been given a new cast by the January 22 Supreme Court decision on abortion. These two circumstances define the present moment as uniquely propitious for a careful rethinking of the entire ecumenical engagement.

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Bishops Approve “Basic Teachings”

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Bishops Approve “Basic Teachings”

By W.H. MARSHNER

THE WANDERER
Our Second Century of Lay Apostolate
January 25, 1973
St. Paul, Minn.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – By an undisclosed but reportedly “overwhelming” vote, the Bishops of the United States have approved the document called “Basic Teachings for Catholic Religious Education.” Designed to set guidelines for the doctrinal content of catechesis, the document was prepared by an ad hoc committee consisting of Archbishop John F. Whealon of Hartford (chairman), Bishop Clarence Elwell of Columbus, Auxiliary Bishop John J. Graham of Philadelphia, Auxiliary Bishop John B. McDowell of Pittsburgh and Auxiliary Bishop William E. McManus of Chicago. The final draft was approved by the Sacred Congregation for the Clergy in Rome and then submitted to all the U.S. Bishops by the NCCB administrative committee. The Bishops were asked to vote on the document by mail, a procedure which caused unexpected delay in its final ratification because the balloting coincided with the Christmas mail rush. A two-thirds majority was required.

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Business As Usual… Fr. Rausch Succeeds Bishop Bernardin

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Business As Usual. . .

Fr. Rausch Succeeds Bishop Bernardin At USCC

By WILLIAM H. MARSHNER

THE WANDERER
DECEMBER 14, 1972
Our Second Century of Lay Apostolate

WASHINGTON – In a move that strongly indicates continuity rather than change of direction, Fr. James S. Rausch has been elected unanimously to succeed Archbishop Joseph Bernardin as General Secretary of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) and the United States Catholic Conference (USCC).

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The Bishops’ Agenda… Who Makes It And What Is It Like?

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The Bishops’ Agenda …
Who Makes It
And What Is It Like?

THE WANDERER
November 23, 1972
(Special to The Wanderer)

WASHINGTON — For the benefit of readers who have never attended the annual meeting of the American Bishops, it may be useful to say a word about the fat mass of documents, which, taken together, represent the Bishops’ “agenda documentation.” This contains the texts of reports to be approved (each committee of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) makes a report, as does each office in the United States Catholic Conference (USCC) — though, of course, every one of them does not necessarily report at every meeting) and of statements to be issued by the conference.

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Criticism Abounds At Bishops’ Meeting

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Criticism Abounds At Bishops’ Meeting

By WILLIAM H. MARSHNER

November 23, 1972
THE WANDERER
(Special to The Wanderer)

ARLINGTON. Va. – The general meeting of the American Bishops, the second one they have held this year, convened at 9:30 a.m., November 13th, in the Marriott “Twin Bridges” Motor Inn, located in Virginia, just across the Potomac from Washington, D.C. The choice of site was dictated by the desire to escape the affluent image conveyed by meeting in luxurious downtown hotels, according to Mr. Russell Shaw, the chief information officer for the Bishops. At last Spring’s meeting, Bishop Thomas Gumbleton created some notice by staying in the local YMCA for the same motive. This year, Bishop Gumbleton is once again staying elsewhere, perhaps because the Marriott, though surely less grand than the Statler Hilton, is a poshy enough place in its own way.

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Permanent Committee On Priestly Life And Ministry: A Case For The Negative

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Permanent Committee On Priestly Life And Ministry?:
A Case For The Negative

By WILLIAM H. MARSHNER

THE WANDERER
November 9, 1972

At their annual meeting next week, the American Bishops will be asked to vote on a proposal to form a permanent committee and secretariat on priestly life and ministry, to take the place of the present Ad Hoc Committee chaired by Archbishop Hannan of New Orleans. Their Excellencies should approach this decision with extreme care. On paper, an affirmative vote by the Bishops will do nothing more than approve the general idea of having such a committee and staff. Continue reading “Permanent Committee On Priestly Life And Ministry: A Case For The Negative”

A Threat To Every American Priest

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A Threat To Every American Priest

By WILLIAM H. MARSHNER

THE WANDERER
The Hannan Committee Report
November 2, 1972

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Bishops’ Ad Hoc Committee for Priestly Life and Ministry, organized to implement the results of the half-million-dollar study of the priesthood, and presided over by Archbishop Philip Hannan of New Means, has completed its initial report, or rather, the initial part of its initial report, which has been sent to each of the Bishops.

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Fr. McManus Stunned By Vatican Moves

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Fr. McManus Stunned By Vatican Moves

W. H. Marshner

THE WANDERER
(Special to The Wanderer)
October 26, 1972

DETROIT — Fr. Frederick R. McManus, director of the secretariat of the Bishops Committee on the Liturgy, denounced steps taken by the Holy See in recent months to regulate intercommunion, sacramental absolution, and minor orders as “negative indications of retrenchment and misunderstanding.” McManus made the remarks during a “State Of The Liturgy” address to the national meeting of the Federation of Diocesan Liturgical Commissions, held here October 9th through 13th.

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The Bishops’ Strange Love

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The Bishops’ Strange Love

W. H. MARSHNER

Triumph
Vol. VII No. 6
June 1972

As a journalist, I dedicate this report to His Eminence John Cardinal Krol, in gratitude for honest answers to honest questions.

—WM

This is a discussion of the spring meeting of the American bishops in Atlanta. It appears at least a month after other commentators have finished their slight remarks upon the subject, which evidently bored them immensely, and in a magazine which seldom publishes lengthy discussions of bishops’ meetings. These two circumstances seem to make an explanation desirable, if one is to avoid the charge of talking very late about very little. Continue reading “The Bishops’ Strange Love”