CV NEWS FEED // The United States Catholic Conference of Bishops (USCCB) is set to hold its Spring 2024 Plenary Assembly June 12-14 in Louisville, Kentucky, where they will discuss the future of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) and the approval of a new case of canonization, among other issues.
Although the agenda for the assembly is not yet solidified, according to a May 13 USCCB news release, the bishops are expected to receive various updates, including those from the Committee on Migration; the bishops’ national mental health campaign; and the Synod on Synodality.
The bishops will begin with time spent in prayer and fraternal dialogue, while also “reflecting on positioning the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) for the future.”
The CCHD yearly collection is one of the top performers in the country, and its funds help the bishops financially support local partner organizations that alleviate poverty. The Campaign has been a source of controversy in the past for partnering with organizations that openly contradict Catholic Church teaching.
Last year, the bishops began reviewing the future and contemplating how to best adapt their resources to the needs of a post-pandemic context.
“For a half-century, grants made possible through the annual CCHD collection have gone to help community organizations working to empower people striving to overcome poverty,” the release stated. “Now, the bishops have begun the process of discerning the next 50 years.”
The bishops will then hold public sessions on June 13 and 14, which will be livestreamed on the USCCB website.
The public sessions will include an address from the papal nuncio to the United States, Cardinal Christophe Pierre, and from the Conference president, Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the Archdiocese of US Military Services. It will also include voting on a new plan for youth ministry that a committee Bishop Robert Barron presided over is preparing.
Lastly, the bishops plan to consult each other about possibly opening a cause for the beatification and canonization of Adele Brise, a 19th-century catechist who was the sole witness of a powerful Marian apparition.
