U.S. Bishops Elect Archbishop Dolan New President, Archbishop Kurtz Vice President, Bishop Bransfield Treasurer, Also Vote on Chairs-Elect of Six Committees

BALTIMORE (November 16, 2010) — The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) elected Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York as their new president and Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville, Kentucky vice president at their annual Fall General Assembly.

Archbishop Dolan, who succeeds Cardinal Francis George of Chicago as president of the USCCB, was elected 128-111 on the third ballot in a run-off with Bishop Gerald Kicanas of Tucson, Arizona. Archbishop Kurtz was elected 147-91 on the third vice presidential ballot in a run-off with Archbishop Charles Chaput, OFM Cap., of Denver. Archbishop Dolan and Archbishop Kurtz begin their three-year terms as president and vice president at the conclusion of this week’s meeting.

The bishops elected Bishop Michael Bransfield of Wheeling-Charleston, West Virginia to serve as USCCB treasurer-elect of the USCCB in a 123-114 vote over Bishop Paul Bradley of Kalamazoo. As Archbishop Kurtz is vacating the office of treasurer to assume the vice presidency, the bishops affirmed by acclamation that Bishop Bransfield assume the office immediately.

The bishops voted for the chairmen-elect of six committees who will begin their three-year chairmanships in November 2011. The bishops elected:

• Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the Archdiocese for Military Services to chair the Committee on Canonical Affairs and Church Governance in a 138-105 vote over Bishop Randolph Calvo of Reno, Nevada.
• Bishop Joseph McFadden of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to chair the Committee on Catholic Education in a 120-118 vote over Coadjutor Bishop David O’Connell of Trenton, New Jersey.
• Bishop Denis J. Madden, auxiliary bishop of Baltimore, to chair the Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs in a 125-113 vote over Bishop Ronald Gainer of Lexington, Kentucky.
• Bishop David L. Ricken of Green Bay, Wisconsin, to chair the Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis in a 137-102 vote over Bishop Paul Coakley of Salina, Kansas.
• Bishop Daniel Conlon of Steubenville, Ohio, to chair the Committee on Child and Youth Protection, in a 146-92 vote over Bishop Patrick Zurek of Amarillo, Texas.
• Archbishop Edwin O’Brien of Baltimore to chair the Committee on International Justice and Peace in a 145-93 vote over Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of Brooklyn, New York.

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Keywords: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, USCCB, U.S. bishops, president, vice president, treasurer, chairmen-elect, Archbishop Timothy Dolan, Archbishop Joseph Kurtz, Bishop Michael Bransfield, Bishop Gerald Kicanas, Archbishop Charles Chaput