My dear people of God,
Each November the Bishops of the United States have their annual meeting in Washington D.C. This year 225 bishops were in attendance, not counting the retired bishops. This meeting reminds us of our unity with all the faithful throughout the world as it is through this collegiality of all the bishops in union with the Holy Father that we preserve our unity and our faithfulness to the teaching of Christ handed down to us from the Apostles.
The meeting is composed mainly of a number of action items as well as oral reports about the work of the Church in the United States and the world. I will only speak of a few of those actions items in this editorial. One of those action items was approving "The United States Catholic Catechism for Adults.” This is a Catechism written with the intention of being used in adult education programs and for the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults here in America. It has been over four years in the making.
Also the Bishops approved a ritual for marriage in Spanish and a ritual in both Spanish and English to be used for quinceañera ceremonies, which is a tradition amongst many Hispanics for a young girl to renew her baptismal vows when she turns fifteen. These two rituals and the Catechism for Adults need the confirmation by the Holy See.
The Bishops also approved beginning a three-year process in the church of a study and dialogue amongst God's people regarding the true nature of marriage and family, leading to a pastoral statement to be finalized in the year 2007.
One of the most striking items was the Bishops approving the beginning of a new ecumenical group called "Christian Churches together in the U.S.A.” This will be group made up of the five main groups: Catholics, Evangelicals, Historical Protestant groups, Historical Ethnic groups and Orthodox Churches. The purpose of this group is to have a forum to pray together, to dialogue together and to witness to our common Christian faith. Statements will only come from the group when the delegates of all five groups are in total agreement. It is good to emphasize that the goal of all ecumenical dialogue is full visible communion in both the sacraments and hierarchical communion. This group as all other types of ecumenical efforts is an interim process working towards that ultimate goal, which may come long after our lifetime.
We truly are blest through the ministry of the Bishops, as one of the major tasks of each Bishop is to proclaim clearly the teaching of Christ. Also each Bishop, acting in collegiality with his fellow bishops and in union with the Holy Father, becomes an effective sign of our visible unity as the Body of Christ in this world. May this season of Advent and Christmas be a time of true blessing for you and your family.
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