Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jun 13, 2023 / 12:10 pm
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is gathering in Orlando for its spring meeting with a full agenda, including updates on the national eucharistic revival efforts, a vote on revising the Ethical and Religious Directives for Health Care Services, and a vote on the drafting of a new pastoral statement on persons with disabilities in the life of the Church.
The bishops’ public meetings will take place on June 15 and 16 after the bishops meet privately on June 14 for prayer and fraternal dialogue. The public portion will open with addresses from the apostolic nuncio to the United States, Archbishop Christophe Pierre, and USCCB President Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, who was elected to the role at the bishops’ fall gathering.
One item that could provoke discussion is the bishops’ vote on moving forward with a revision of a portion of the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services, which covers the relationship between the Catholic medical professional and the patient.
Some reports indicate that the revision would update the directives to align with a March doctrinal note from the bishops, which states that “Catholic health care services must not perform interventions, whether surgical or chemical, that aim to transform the sexual characteristics of a human body into those of the opposite sex or take part in the development of such procedures.”