Bishops' fall assembly sees abortion 'pre-eminent' in faithful citizenship, lively discussion of men

Bishops' fall assembly sees abortion 'pre-eminent' in faithful citizenship, lively discussion of mental health and emphasis on evangelizing

BALTIMORE (OSV News) -- Excitement about the impacts of the National Eucharistic Revival in local dioceses, support for the nomination of St. John Henry Newman as a doctor of the church and the approval of supplements to the bishops' teaching document on "Faithful Citizenship" featured strongly on the second day of the U.S. bishops' annual fall plenary assembly in Baltimore. The bishops typically engaged in little to no discussion before votes on agenda items they were set to vote on, which all passed with overwhelming majorities. However, the bishops more vigorously engaged in discussion toward the end of the day with updates on the National Eucharistic Revival and the bishops' National Catholic Mental Health Campaign. The bishops also voted to replace the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' current strategic planning cycle with a mission planning process. The U.S. bishops also voted nearly unanimously to support the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales in their request for Pope Francis to name St. John Henry Newman a doctor of the church. The day included a focus on "evangelizing catechesis" both with updates on the bishops' Institute of Catechesis and a discussion on how the instituted catechist, a new dedicated lay ministry proceeding from baptism, can help bring the church's evangelizing teachings to others.