United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
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- This article is about the organization of U.S. Roman Catholic bishops.
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is the official leadership body of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States. Founded in 1966 as the joint National Conference of Catholic Bishops and United States Catholic Conference, it is composed of all members of the Roman Catholic hierarchy (i.e. bishops and archbishops) in the United States. The USCCB adopted its current name in July 2001. The organization is a registered corporation based in Washington, DC. As with all bishops' conferences, certain decisions and acts of the USCCB must receive the recognitio, or approval of the Roman dicasteries, which are subject to the immediate and absolute authority of the Pope.
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[edit] History
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. Headquarters were established in Washington, DC. In 1922 the Council became the National Catholic Welfare Conference with the purpose of advocating reforms in education, immigration and social action. This body remained until it was replaced by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops to fulfill the new requirements of the Second Vatican Council for national conferences of bishops. The name was changed to its present form in 2001.
[edit] Major acts
[edit] Presidents
- John Cardinal Dearden, Archbishop of Detroit (1966-1971)
- John Cardinal Krol, Archbishop of Philadelphia (1971-1974)
- Archbishop Joseph Bernardin, Archbishop of Cincinnati (1974-1977)
- Archbishop John Quinn, Archbishop of San Francisco (1977-1980)
- Archbishop John Roach, Archbishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis (1980-1983)
- Bishop James Malone, Bishop of Youngstown (1983-1986)
- Archbishop John May, Archbishop of Saint Louis (1986-1989)
- Archbishop Daniel Pilarczyk, Archbishop of Cincinnati (1989-1992)
- William Cardinal Keeler, Archbishop of Baltimore (1992-1995)
- Bishop Anthony Pilla, Bishop of Cleveland (1995-1998)
- Archbishop Joseph Fiorenza, Bishop of Galveston-Houston (1998-2001, last NCCB/USCC President/first USCCB President)
- Bishop Wilton D. Gregory, Bishop of Belleville (2001-2004)
- Bishop William S. Skylstad, Bishop of Spokane (2004-2007)
- Francis Cardinal George, Archbishop of Chicago (2007-present), incumbent, elected November 2007.
[edit] USCCB Departments & Programs
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[edit] See also
- List of the Roman Catholic bishops of the United States
- List of the Roman Catholic cathedrals of the United States
- List of the Roman Catholic dioceses of the United States
- Plenary Councils of Baltimore
