United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

The first national organization of Catholic bishops in the United States was founded in 1917 as the National Catholic War Council (NCWC), formed to enable U.S. Catholics to contribute funds for the spiritual care of Catholic servicemen during World War I.

In 1919 Pope Benedict XV urged the college of bishops around the world to assist him in promoting the labor reforms first articulated by Pope Leo XIII in Rerum novarum. In response, the U.S. Catholic episcopate organized the National Catholic Welfare Council in 1919. They also created the first Administrative Committee of seven members to manage daily affairs between plenary meetings, with archbishop Edward Joseph Hanna of San Francisco as the first chairman. Headquarters were established in Washington, D.C.

After a threatened suppression of the National Catholic Welfare Council, the administrative board decided to rename the organization to be the National Catholic Welfare Conference, with the purpose of advocating reforms in education, immigration, and social action.

Episcopal conferences were first established as formal bodies by the Second Vatican Council (Christus Dominus, 38), and implemented by Pope Paul VI's 1966 motu proprio Ecclesiae sanctae. In order to fulfill the new requirements for national conferences of bishops, the American bishops established – in 1966 – the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) and its secular arm, the United States Catholic Conference (USCC).

As separate organizations with distinct responsibilities, the NCCB focused on internal ecclesiastical concerns while the USCC carried forward work in society at large. The NCCB enabled the bishops to deliberate and respond collectively on a broad range of issues, with work being carried out through various secretariats, standing committees, and ad hoc committees.

On July 1, 2001, the NCCB and the USCC were combined to form the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). The merger resulted in the continuation of all of the work formerly done by the NCCB and the USCC, with the same staff.

The operation, authority, and responsibilities of episcopal conferences are currently governed by the 1983 Code of Canon Law (see especially canons 447–459). The nature of episcopal conferences, and their magisterial authority in particular, was subsequently clarified by Pope John Paul II's 1998 motu proprio, Apostolos suos.

The structure of the conference (USCCB) consists of 16 standing committees (whose members are bishops) and the departments, secretariats, and offices that carry out the work of the committees. The leaders of these departments, secretariats, and offices report to the general secretariat of the conference.

USCCB offices in Washington, D.C.

The membership of the USCCB consists of all active and retired Latin Church Catholic and Eastern Catholic bishops (i.e., diocesan, coadjutor, and auxiliary bishops) of the United States and the Territory of the Virgin Islands – and the ordinary of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter – but not the bishops of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Territory of American Samoa, and the Territory of Guam. The bishops of the latter four U.S. overseas dependencies belong to other episcopal conferences. In the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the bishops in the six dioceses form their own episcopal conference, the Puerto Rican Episcopal Conference. The bishops in U.S. insular areas in the Pacific Ocean – the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Territory of American Samoa, and the Territory of Guam – are members of the Episcopal Conference of the Pacific.

The USCCB has two semiannual meetings, in November and June. Between these meetings, the conference is governed by the Administrative Committee. There is also an executive committee, whose members include the conference president, vice-president, and secretary (all of whom are bishops). The officers of the conference are elected for three-year terms. The conference also elects chairmen and chairmen-elect of the standing committees.

• Committee on Canonical Affairs and Church Governance – Archbishop Bernard Hebda of Saint Paul and Minneapolis (Elect: Bishop Robert Deeley of Portland, Maine).
• Committee on Catholic Education – Bishop George V. Murry of Youngstown
• Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life, and Vocations – Cardinal Joseph William Tobin of Newark
• Committee on Communications – Bishop Christopher J. Coyne of Burlington
• Committee on Cultural Diversity in the Church – Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller of San Antonio
• Committee on Divine Worship – Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory of Washington, D.C.
• Committee on Doctrine – Archbishop Allen Henry Vigneron of Detroit
• Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs – Bishop Mitchell T. Rozanski of Springfield, MA (Elect: Bishop Joseph Bambera of Scranton)
• Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis – Archbishop Leonard Paul Blair of Hartford (Elect: Bishop Robert Barron, Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles)
• Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development – Bishop Frank Joseph Dewane of Venice
• Committee on International Justice and Peace – Bishop Oscar Cantú of San Jose, CA (Elect: Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the Military Services)
• Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life, and Youth – Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia
• Committee on Migration – Bishop Eusebio L. Elizondo Almaguer Auxiliary Bishop of Seattle (Elect: Bishop Joe S. Vásquez of Austin)
• Committee on National Collections – Archbishop Thomas John Rodi of Mobile
• Committee on Pro-Life Activities – Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York (Elect: Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City)
• Committee on the Protection of Children and Young People – Bishop Edward J. Burns of Juneau (Elect: Bishop Timothy Doherty of Lafayette, Indiana)
• Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty – Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore

• Administrative Committee (President) – Cardinal Daniel DiNardo
• Vice President – Archbishop Jose Horacio Gomez
• Committee on Budget and Finance (Treasurer) – Bishop Michael J. Bransfield
• Committee on Priorities and Plans (Secretary) – Bishop George V. Murry, SJ
• Executive Committee – Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan

Office of the General Secretary

• General Secretary
• Associate General Secretary – Pastoral Ministry and Planning
• Associate General Secretary and Secretary of Policy and Advocacy
• Associate General Secretary and Secretary of Administration
• Assistant General Secretary for Planning

Office of the General Counsel

Pastoral Ministry

• Secretariat of Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations
• Secretariat of Cultural Diversity in the Church
• Secretariat of Divine Worship
• Secretariat of Doctrine
• Secretariat of Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs
• Secretariat of Evangelization and Catechesis
• Secretariat of Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth
• Secretariat of Child and Youth Protection

Policy and Advocacy

• Secretary of Policy and Advocacy
• Government Relations

Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development

• Executive Director
• Office of International Justice and Peace
• Office of Domestic Social Development
• Catholic Campaign for Human Development
• Education and Outreach

Department of Migration and Refugee Services

• Executive Director
• Office of Migration and Refugee Policy
• Office of Refugee Programs

Secretariat of Catholic Education

Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities

Communications

• Chief Communications Officer
• Catholic News Service
• Creative Services
• Marketing and Episcopal Resources
• Public Affairs

Administration and National Collections

• Secretary of Administration
• Office of Finance
• Office of Accounting and Business Services
• Office of General Services
• Office of Human Resources

Office of National Collections

• The Church in Central and Eastern Europe
• Catholic Home Missions
• The Church in Latin America
• Peter's Pence
• The Catholic Relief Services Collection
• The Church in Africa
• Catholic Communication Campaign (promotion)
• The Catholic Campaign for Human Development (promotion)

Other Collections

National Religious Retirement Office

Office of Information Technology

The National Conference of Catholic Bishops had appointed James T. McHugh during April 1967 to lead the early formation of what was later to become the National Right to Life Committee. The NRLC was itself formed in 1968 under the auspices of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops to coordinate information and strategy between developing local and state Catholic pro-life groups and is the oldest and the largest national organization against legal abortion in the United States with NRLC affiliates in all 50 states and over 3,000 local chapters nationwide.[4] These NRLC affiliate groups were forming in response to efforts to change abortion laws based on model legislation proposed by the American Law Institute (ALI). New Jersey attorney Juan Ryan served as the organization's first president. NRLC held a nationwide meeting of pro-life leaders in Chicago in 1970 at Barat College. The following year, NRLC held its first convention at Macalestar College in St. Paul, Minnesota.

The USCCB are issuing the "Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services"[5][6] that have in some cases caused doctors to refuse treatment of patients although in an emergency situation.[7]

In March 2012, regarding the federal requirement that employers who do not support contraception but are not religious institutions per se must cover contraception via health insurance, USCCB decided to "continue its 'vigorous opposition to this unjust and illegal mandate'".[8]

In June and July 2012, the USCCB promoted a campaign of events called the Fortnight for Freedom to protest government activities that in their view impinged on their religious liberty.

The USCCB platform on immigration reform includes:[9][10]

• Earned legalization for immigrants who are of good moral character to adjust their status to obtain lawful permanent residence after a background check and payment of fines.
• A legal path for foreign born workers to enter the U.S. for work in order to alleviate border crossing deaths.
• More visas to promote family reunification as well as a reduction in waiting times.
• Elimination of some of the penalties in the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 such as the three year and ten year bans on deported illegal immigrants (depending on the length of their illegal stay in the U.S.)
• The root cause of illegal immigrations such as poverty and inequality in sending countries needs to be addressed.
• Enforcement should focus on illegal immigrants who pose risks to public safety rather than on families seeking employment.

In November 2004, the USCCB kicked off the National Pastoral Initiative for Marriage, a multi-year effort to promote traditional marriage values.[11]

The National Pastoral Initiative for Marriage is a multi-year, far-reaching effort to promote traditional marriage values created by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in 2004.

Led by Archbishop Joseph Edward Kurtz of Louisville, and the USCCB's Office of Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth, as well as the Catholic Communication Campaign, the Initiative synthesizes social-science research, Catholic teaching and pastoral practice, and the everyday experiences of married men and women to bolster marriage as a social institution and Christian sacrament.

The NPIM has largely been promoted among the general public in the United States through radio and television public-service announcements.[12]

In the advertising, couples speak candidly about the everyday things done for each other to show love and commitment as they answer the question: “What have you done for your marriage today?” Viewers are then directed to visit,[13] an online repository of resources, tips and stories that can help strengthen a marriage.

The NPIM is expected to run through 2011, with the next phase including a bishops’ pastoral letter.

On September 29, 2011, the archbishop of New York, Timothy M. Dolan, then president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), appointed Archbishop William E. Lori the chair of a newly formed Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty to address growing concerns over the erosion of freedom of religion in America.[14] During June 2017, the U.S. bishops voted to establish a permanent Committee for Religious Liberty.[15] The USCCB Office of Religious Liberty is currently led by Archbishop Joseph Edward Kurtz, who also was president of the USCCB during 2013-2016.

Religious Freedom Week is held annually during early summer to coincide approximately with U.S. Independence Day on July 4 and with the June 22 Feast of Saints Thomas More and John Fisher.[16]

On June 12, 2020, a committee praised President Donald Trump's administration for changing a Department of Health and Human Services ruling regarding discrimination based on gender identity, saying it "will help restore the rights of health care providers—as well as insurers and employers—who decline to perform or cover abortions or 'gender transition' procedures due to ethical or professional objections."[17]

As president of the USCCB, Archbishop José Gómez criticized the U.S. Supreme Court after the ruling on Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia, and other cases regarding LGBTQ+ employment discrimination. The ruling read Civil Rights Act of 1964 as prohibiting discrimination on sexual orientation. Gómez said, "This is an injustice that will have implications in many areas of life."[18]