Report
USCCB Strategic Plan 2021-2024
Created Anew by the Body and Blood of Christ, Source of Our Healing and Hope, 2021-2024 Strategic Plan for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
The Gospel of Christ and the teachings of his Church guide the work of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). The work of the Conference is rooted in three general mission goals and organized into three key areas of responsibility: (1) to act collaboratively and consistently on vital issues confronting the Church and society; (2) to foster communion with the Church in other nations, within the Church universal, under the leadership of its supreme pastor, the Bishop of Rome; and (3) to offer appropriate assistance to each bishop in fulfilling his particular ministry in the local Church. This report is a window into the 2021-2024 USCCB Strategic Plan and an invitation to join the work of the Church at the national level in the United States.
Developing a comprehensive strategic plan for an organization that works on and addresses such a wide breadth of issues is a significant undertaking. The 2021-2024 USCCB Strategic Plan includes more than 235 objectives and 869 individual activities, each one comprehensive and complex in their own right. The work is carried out by approximately 45 committees, subcommittees and departments at the USCCB. The strategic plan invites more than 1,800 partners—individuals and organizations—from within the Conference and the broader community of faith into a collaboration that serves the common good.
Through active participation of the bishops, USCCB staff and volunteer consultants, the development process for the strategic plan takes two full years. In the case of the 20212024 plan, it began in November 2018 with the provision of inputs by bishops on the 2021-24 USCCB Strategic Priorities. These inputs were used to draft Strategic Priorities, which were provisionally approved by the full body of bishops at the June 2019 General Meeting and then fully approved at the November 2019 General Meeting. This was followed by the drafting of operational plans by the USCCB committees, subcommittees and departments that began in July 2019 and was originally completed in January 2020. Operational plans were submitted with the intention of the presentation of the final version before the body of bishops for their approval in November 2020 at their November plenary.
The theme chosen for the 2021-2024 Strategic Plan, “Created Anew by the Body and Blood of Christ: Source of Our Healing and Hope” emerged as the result of listening sessions with bishops, the National Advisory Council, and groups of priests, religious, and lay people. The groups were asked to reflect on the challenges and opportunities facing the Church in the four years ahead. The most commonly heard and heavily discussed issues among the groups naturally formed the overarching theme of the strategic plan that will guide the USCCB for the next four years.