U.S. Bishops to Meet June 15-17 in Seattle, Discuss Charter Revisions, Assisted Suicide Document, Spanish Mass Translation

WASHINGTON—The annual Spring General Assembly of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) will be June 15-17, at the Hyatt Regency Bellevue Hotel in Seattle. The meeting will begin with Mass at 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday, June 15.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /?>

The bishops will debate and vote on revisions to the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, a document on physician assisted suicide called “To Live Each Day With Dignity,” and the Spanish translation of USA Propers, as well as an appendix of major feast days of Spanish-speaking countries for inclusion in the future Spanish translation of the Roman Missal.

The bishops will hear addresses by Ken Hackett at the conclusion of his service as president of Catholic Relief Services (CRS), Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin, Ireland on the 50th International Eucharistic Congress in June 2012, Father Edward Dougherty on the 100th anniversary of the Maryknoll Society, and Msgr. David Malloy at the conclusion of his service as general secretary of USCCB.

The agenda also includes:

·A presentation on the Defense of Marriage efforts of the USCCB, including a Spanish-language video.

·A report by Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington on Anglicanorum coetibus, the Vatican guideline for allowing communities of Anglicans to enter into Full Communion with the Catholic Church.

·A report by Bishop Kevin Farrell of Dallas, chairman of the USCCB Committee on National Collections, on the evaluation of national collections.

·Discussion of Faithful Citizenship, the bishops’ call to political responsibility.

·A request by the USCCB Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations to proceed in drafting a document on preaching.

Coverage of the meeting is open to credentialed media. Sessions open to the media will be Wednesday, June 15, from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pacific Time and Thursday, June 16, until 10:30 a.m. There will be media conferences after all open sessions. Credentialed media should book their rooms through USCCB to ensure space (instructions will be given upon registration). Reporters seeking to cover the meeting can download a credential application form at www.usccb.org/comm/credentialform.pdf and submit it by June 3, by fax to (202) 541-3173, or mail to:

Keywords: USCCB, Spring General Assembly, June meeting, Archbishop Timothy Dolan, Seattle, assisted suicide, Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, Dallas Charter, revision, Spanish Propers, Anglicanorum coetibus