Baltimore, Md., Nov 14, 2016 / 11:30 am
Concrete outreach to those in need should be the focus of the U.S. bishops going forward, as well as "respectful dialogue" with the Trump administration, the bishops' conference president said Monday.
"United with Pope Francis, we are confident and we are hopeful, as we hear once again the echo of the words of Jesus: what you did for one of my least, you did for me," Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville told the U.S. bishops.
Archbishop Kurtz is the outgoing president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, finishing a three-year term. He spoke at their general assembly in Baltimore, Maryland Nov. 14. The bishops are entering their 100th year of holding plenary gatherings.
"Whether it is protecting the child in the womb and her mother or a family seeking a better life as they migrate from another country, it is our task to think not of our own interests but of the common good," he said. "We embrace that task with enthusiasm and enter respectful dialogue with President Donald Trump and with both houses of Congress."