Bishops conference is national voice of Roman Catholic Church

Composed of the Catholic Church’s leaders in the United States and the U.S. Virgin Islands, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is made up of 272 bishops and 141 retired bishops.

Together, these men make decisions on pastoral, liturgical and public policy matters, such as poverty, capital punishment and the war in Iraq.

“The bishops conference is a voice, a national voice on issues facing our country, the church and the world,” said the Rev. Tom Reese, a Jesuit and the editor of America, a Catholic magazine. “It is an absolutely necessary institution. Without the conference, there would be chaos.”

In the secular media, little attention was paid to the conference until the sex abuse crisis rocked the church three years ago. After the scandal erupted in the Boston Archdiocese, Catholics and non-Catholics alike took notice.

Although the organization has received more attention since the scandal, it has lost some of its credibility when it has spoken out on other issues, such as the war in Iraq, said Reese.

“The sex abuse crisis has eclipsed everything about the bishops, so that they have a hard time getting their message across,” said Reese.

Bishop Wilton Gregory, the current president, and Spokane Bishop William Skylstad led the American bishops two years ago in their effort to enact a national policy to address the scandal and to ensure the safety of children.

By electing Skylstad as president, the bishops showed that they want to continue Gregory’s work in responding to the clergy sex abuse problem, said Reese. It also shows their high regard for Skylstad and that they share his focus on peace and justice, he said.

“The real election happened three years ago, when Skylstad became vice president,” he said. “This is a very traditional group. To suddenly change horses in midstream is not something they’re inclined to do.

“His removal (from the presidency) would have been a rejection of what Gregory and the conference has done,” Reese said.