Bishops To Elect Next General Secretary At Meeting In Baltimore

WASHINGTON—The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) will elect a new general secretary of the Conference at the annual Fall General Assembly in Baltimore, November 15-18. The two candidates are Msgr. Ronny Jenkins, JCD, a priest of the Diocese of Austin, Texas, who is currently serving as associate general secretary of the USCCB, and Msgr. David Kagan, JCL, who is currently serving as the vicar general for the Diocese of Rockford, Illinois.

The general secretary oversees the work of the USCCB on behalf of the bishops of the United States.

Msgr. Jenkins was ordained a priest of the Austin on June 24, 1989. He holds a bachelor's degree in psychology and a master's degree in philosophy from the University of Dallas. He earned his baccalaureate and licentiate in sacred theology at Rome's Pontifical Gregorian University, and was awarded a licentiate and doctorate of canon law at The Catholic University of America (CUA). Msgr. Jenkins has served as pastor and judicial vicar in the Diocese of Austin and as an associate professor of canon law at CUA. Prior to coming to the Conference, he was a consultant to the USCCB’s Committee on Canonical Affairs and currently consults on the Committee on the Protection of Children and Young People. He is currently an adjunct associate professor of canon law at CUA as well as a member of several national and international canon law societies. His work has been published in numerous periodicals, including The Jurist and Periodica. He also served as postulator of the sainthood cause of Mary Virginia Merrick. He was named a Chaplain to His Holiness in 2005, and a Prelate of Honor in 2009.

Msgr. Kagan was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Rockford on June 14, 1975. He attended Salvatorian Seminary in St. Nazianz, Wisconsin, and Loras College/St. Pius X Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa. He graduated with a master’s in theology from the Gregorian University and earned an STB in theology and JCL in Canon Law from Gregorian University/North American College in Rome. In the Rockford Diocese, he has served as head of the diocesan tribunal, director of communications, and moderator of the curia. He has taught at Newman Central Catholic High School, Boylan Central Catholic High School and St. Anthony Hospital School of Nursing. He was named a Prelate of Honor in 1994, and invested as a Knight of the Holy Sepulchre in 1995. Along with his duties as vicar general, he is currently pastor of Holy Family Parish in Rockford and associate publisher of The Observer diocesan newspaper.

Msgr. David Malloy, the current general secretary, has served since 2006. He is a priest of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee and has a licenciate in canon law from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas (the Angelicum) in Rome as well as a doctorate in theology from the Gregorian University. His term as general secretary concludes at the end of June 2011.

Coverage of the Fall General Assembly of the USCCB is open to credentialed media. The meeting is at the Baltimore Waterfront Marriott. Sessions open to the media will be Monday, November 15, and Tuesday, November 16. Media conferences will follow all open sessions. Reporters seeking to cover the meeting can download a credential application form and submit it by November 5, by fax (202-541-3173) or mail to:

November Meeting Credentials
Office of Media Relations
3211 4th St. NE
Washington, DC 20017-1194

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Keywords: Fall General Assembly, November meeting, nominees, candidates, general secretary, USCCB, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Msgr. Ronny Jenkins, Msgr. David Kagan, Diocese of Austin, Diocese of Rockford