The Pre-Game

Lest there be any confusion, it's a long-standing tradition for the top brass of the USCCB to meet twice a year with the dicastery heads of the Roman Curia; one of these invariably takes place in the run-up to the conference's all-important November Meeting, and invariably includes a private papal audience...

For obvious reasons, however, this year's summit took on an added import:

After the Oct. 23 meeting [with the Pope], Cardinal Francis E. George, conference president, told Catholic News Service he did not feel it was appropriate to discuss details of the private meeting.

Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas of Tucson, Ariz., conference vice president, and Msgr. David Malloy, USCCB general secretary, also attended the meeting....

The meetings allow Vatican officials and representatives of the U.S. bishops to discuss issues of common concern. The discussions usually include a briefing about matters on the agenda of the U.S. bishops' fall general meeting, big events in the life of the U.S. church and major issues and trends in U.S. society.

Back here at home, it's worth noting that the US church's efforts for itinerant peoples have led the charge on resettling close to 18,000 refugees this year, 30 percent of the total admitted inside the nation's borders.

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