— statement on embryonic stem cell research
— audio from press conference 1 (mp3)
— audio from press conference 2 (mp3)
— press conference information
— voting results


Highlights of U.S. bishops' 2008 spring general meeting

ORLANDO, Fla. (CNS) — At the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' June 12-14 spring general meeting in Orlando, the bishops:

— Approved a 2,000-word policy statement calling embryonic stem-cell research "gravely immoral."

— Failed to reach a conclusion on the fate of a 700-page translation of the proper readings of the Roman Missal.

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Roundup: Bishops' Spring Meeting

ORLANDO, Fla. (CNS) -- A lively and intense debate over a 700-page translation of part of the Roman Missal dominated the public sessions of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' spring general assembly in Orlando June 12-14, but the bishops failed to come to a conclusion about the fate of the liturgical text.

With much less discussion, they approved a 2,000-word policy statement calling embryonic stem-cell research "gravely immoral"; directed their Committee on Doctrine to begin revising guidelines for Catholic health care institutions on medically assisted nutrition and hydration; designated Sept. 26, 2010, as National Catholic Charities Sunday; and voted to replace the more formal "vosotros" with the more familiar "ustedes" in Spanish-language Masses in the U.S.

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Bishops Pass Statement “On Embryonic Stem Cell Research”

WASHINGTON—U.S. Catholic bishops, convening June 12-14 in Orlando, Florida at their semi-annual spring meeting, by a vote of 191 to 1, passed a statement concerning embryonic stem cell research. This statement will be the first formal statement issued by the bishops devoted exclusively to this issue.

the statement

Presentation of Action Item #3 “On Embryonic Stem Cell Research”

On behalf of Cardinal Rigali and the Committee on Pro-Life Activities I would like to provide introductory remarks on the proposed statement, “On Embryonic Stem Cell Research.”

Individually and collectively, the Catholic bishops of the United States have been very active in the national debate on this issue, and even our opponents admit that ours is one of the most effective voices against destroying human embryos for stem cell research. Some of us have also faced this issue as state conferences of bishops, in the intense atmosphere of a legislative debate or ballot initiative campaign. We have reaffirmed our moral stance in documents approved by the full body of bishops – for example, our statement on “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship” last year mentioned this issue four times. However, as noted today by the National Advisory Council, this will be our first statement as the bishops of the United States devoted exclusively on this issue of embryonic stem cell research.

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Bishops' Spring Meeting Opens

ORLANDO, Fla. (CNS) -- Opening their spring general meeting in Orlando, members of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops got an interim report on the causes and context of child sexual abuse by priests and made quick work of proposals to revisit the ethical guidelines on feeding tubes and to declare a National Catholic Charities Sunday in 2010.

In the first morning session of the June 12-14 assembly at the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress, the bishops also took a preliminary look at two documents they will vote on later in the meeting. The first was a 700-page draft translation of the proper prayers in the Roman Missal for each Sunday and feast day during the liturgical year.

The other was a seven-page policy statement from the Committee on Pro-Life Activities that calls embryonic stem-cell research "a gravely immoral act" that crosses a "fundamental moral line" by treating human beings as mere objects of research.

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Liturgy, stem cells, sex abuse
among topics at bishops' June meeting

WASHINGTON (CNS) — Matters of liturgy and language will dominate the agenda of the U.S. bishops' spring meeting June 12-14 at the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress in Orlando, Fla. But such hot-button issues as embryonic stem-cell research, medically assisted nutrition and hydration, and clergy sex abuse also will come before the bishops.

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Science, religion not in conflict,
bishops say in stem-cell document

WASHINGTON (CNS) — The brief policy statement on embryonic stem-cell research that is to come before the U.S. bishops at their June 12-14 meeting in Orlando, Fla., is designed to set the stage for a later, more pastoral document explaining why the Catholic Church opposes some reproductive technologies.

"While human life is threatened in many ways in our society, the destruction of human embryos for stem-cell research confronts us with an issue of respect for life in a stark new way," says the statement drawn up by the Committee on Pro-Life Activities of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

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Bishops' vote on missal translation
just one step in long process

WASHINGTON (CNS) — When the U.S. bishops take up the English translation of the Roman Missal at their June 12-14 general meeting in Orlando, Fla., it won't be the first time they've looked at the project — and it will be far from the last.

The section of the missal translation under consideration this spring involves the proper prayers — the opening collect, the prayer over the offerings and the prayer after Communion — for Masses during Advent, Christmas, Lent and Easter as well as the Sundays of ordinary time and the solemnities and holy days of obligation.

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Bishops To Vote On Embryonic Stem Cell Research Statement At Spring Meeting

WASHINGTON—U.S. Catholic bishops, convening June 12-14 in Orlando, Florida at their semi-annual spring meeting, will vote on a proposed statement concerning embryonic stem cell research. If approved, this statement will be the first formal statement issued by the bishops devoted exclusively to this issue.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has been prominent in the national debate on stem cell research for many years. Conference officials have offered public statements, testimony and letters to Congress on the issue and many individual bishops and state conferences of bishops have spoken out, especially in the context of state legislation and ballot initiatives. The Catholic Church’s moral position against destroying human embryos for research is also stated briefly in other documents by the full body of bishops (e.g., Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship in November 2007).

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