Amid COVID and Ted, The Bench "ZOOMs" Forward

And now, for something completely different – a hundred forty years since the collegial governance of American Catholicism began with a November meeting of its archbishops, a full century since the entire bench convened as the global church's first episcopal conference, the leadership of the nation's religious body has never experienced a moment like this... quite possibly in more ways than one.

Due to COVID-19, the annual five-ring circus in Baltimore has fallen by the wayside, with the 250 voting members and 50-odd retirees gathering from home via Zoom – a platform with which the prelates have become all too familiar since the pandemic's initial lockdowns began in March.  On the bright side, however, as a good few bishops have long griped about the outlays of money and logistics that go into in-person meetings, their thesis that the bench can sufficiently handle its business with an online plenary can finally be put to the test.

Of course, the setting of the two-day talks isn't the only exceptional matter at hand. The timing of last week's release of the Vatican's McCarrick Report was dictated by this meeting – largely as its continued absence would've made for a fiasco, even among the broad middle of the conference given the two-year delay. Accordingly, today's planned 1pm start has been delayed by 90 minutes to allow for an initial discussion of the 450-page text and its findings in closed-door executive session. 

Beginning with the customary twin addresses by the Nuncio to Washington, Archbishop Christophe Pierre, and the first speech by Archbishop José Gomez of Los Angeles as the conference president, the virtual public "Floor" – which will likewise include open-mic time on McCarrick – opens at 2.30pm Eastern (11.30 Pacific/1830 Rome).

Livefeed below... and as ever, more to come.

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