On the Agenda

Lest anyone thought that the "Proper mulligan" was enough to make this year's November Meeting of the US bishops sufficiently, er, "interesting," whatever might've been center-stage on the Baltimore plenary's agenda before just got thrown in the back seat. Maybe even the trunk.

With the conference's top leadership wrapping up this week's traditional pre-November prep session in DC, the following announcement emerged from the Mothership moments ago:

The Administrative Committee of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops said the full body of U.S. bishops will discuss the practical and pastoral implications of political support for abortion during their annual assembly, November 10-13, in Baltimore.

At the conclusion of its September 9-10 meeting in Washington, the Administrative Committee, which is the highest authority of the USCCB outside the conference’s plenary assemblies in November and June, cited concern for recent misleading remarks about Catholic teaching by Catholic politicians. The statement follows:

In light of recent comments by Catholic politicians misrepresenting Catholic teaching, the Administrative Committee of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops affirms the statements that have been issued by Cardinal Justin F. Rigali, chairman of the U.S. Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, and Bishop William E. Lori, chairman of the U.S. Bishops' Committee on Doctrine. We confirm the Catholic Church's constant teaching about the sanctity of all human life from the moment of conception and the intrinsic evil of abortion. As the teachers of the faith, we also point out the connectedness between the evil of abortion and political support for abortion. We plan to discuss the practical and pastoral implications of these serious matters at the U.S. bishops' November 10-13, 2008 general meeting in Baltimore.

Bundled with the above release were the conference's prior statements on Sen. Biden and Speaker Pelosi.

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