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How to Cover the Catholic Church
tions on issues ranging from capital punishment to the war in Iraq, from the
environment to AIDS, from the human dimensions of economic globalization
to immigration, from human trafficking to health care, housing and minimum
wage issues.
(A transitional note: In the spring of 2008, the Secretariat for Social
Development and World Peace had been renamed the Department of Justice,
Peace and Human Development, but most USCCB Web links had not caught up
yet with the most recent structural name changes. Be prepared in 2008-2009
still to find old names or old-name links on the Web site for departments or pro-
grams that have been renamed.)
USCCB OFFICERS AND COMMITTEES
In its 2005-2007 reorganization, the USCCB reduced its number of commit-
tees significantly and committed itself to a more focused national policy and
program agenda. The result has been far fewer committees and a major reduc-
tion in staffing at the USCCB national offices in Washington. By the time
this booklet went to press, most but not all of the changes had taken effect.
For that reason the following list is still somewhat provisional, but it reflects
nearly all of the changes made in the reorganization.
The four
executive officers
—president, vice president, secretary and
treasurer—serve three-year terms. In November 2013 Archbishop Joseph G.
Kurtz of Louisville, Ky., was elected conference president, and Cardinal Daniel
N. DiNardo of Houston, Tx., was elected vice president. Historically, in most
presidential elections the outgoing vice president has been elected president.
For most news purposes, the most important committees of the USCCB
are its programmatic committees (and related subcommittees). These follow
alphabetically, with their relevant staff offices.
Committee on Canonical Affairs and Church Governance
This committee deals with adaptations of general church law to the U.S.
context and with various other legal issues related to general church law as
applied to the United States. Staff officer is Msgr. Ronny Jenkins, one of the
associate general secretaries.
Committee on Catholic Education
The committee deals with public policy questions of vouchers, tuition credits
or other tax breaks for families with children in private Catholic schools, and a