US bishops discuss penance, homilies, religious liberty, economy

November 13, 2012: The U.S. bishops' fall General Assembly began in Baltimore on Monday. The meeting started with an emphasis on conversion and a return to the sacrament of penance.
New York Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, president of the U.S. bishops' conference, told the bishops at the start of the Nov. 12-15 meeting that he could imagine the criticism he might get for emphasizing penance when there are plenty of "controversies and urgent matters for the church right now."
But he stressed that the bishops cannot engage culture, dialogue with others or confront challenges unless they first recognize their own sins and experience the grace of repentance. Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, papal nuncio to the United States, echoed Cardinal Dolan's call for reconciliation, saying "we must continually undergo conversion ourselves ... so people have faith and confidence in us."
The bishops' assembly, which opened nearly a week after Election Day, also included discussions about religious liberty and marriage. Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore, chairman of the U.S. bishops' Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty, said the work of defending religious liberty would continue despite "setbacks or challenges."
San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone, chairman of the U.S. bishops' Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage, said Election Day was "a disappointing day for marriage." Voters in Maine, Maryland and Washington state approved same-sex marriage; Minnesota voters rejected a constitutional amendment to define marriage as being between one man and one woman.
He praised the work of the bishops in those four states to defend traditional marriage, noting that in all those states they were outspent by supporters of same-sex marriage. Each measure passed by small margins, he said, a factor that pointed to the need to "redouble our efforts."
The bishops also heard a preliminary presentation of a document that highlights the need for better preaching in Sunday homilies.
Preaching needs to be done "more effectively in the context of the new evangelization," Archbishop Carlson said. "Our people hunger for better preaching, preaching that would help them rediscover their faith."
The day before the start of the bishops' fall assembly, officials of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious met with three U.S. bishops charged with overseeing the organization's reform.
"The discussion was open and cordial and those present agreed to meet again to continue the conversation," according to a brief statement issued Nov. 12 by Franciscan Sister Florence Deacon, LCWR president, and Seattle Archbishop J. Peter Sartain, who was assigned by the Vatican to provide "review, guidance and approval, where necessary, of the work" of LCWR, an umbrella group of 1,500 leaders of U.S. women's religious communities representing about 80 percent of the country's 57,000 women religious.