Bishops Approve Renewal of Directory for Permanent Deacons, Religious Liberty Ad Hoc Committee and Plan for Faithful Citizenship Document at Spring General Assembly

NEW ORLEANS—The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), meeting for their June 11-13 Spring General Assembly, approved action items relating to the permanent diaconate, the bishops’ religious liberty efforts and their quadrennial statement on Catholic political responsibility.

The bishops voted to permit the USCCB Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations to seek a renewed recognitio, or approval, from the Vatican for the National Directory for the Formation, Ministry and Life of Permanent Deacons in the United States. Vatican approval to the text would be for another five-year term.

The bishops also approved a second three-year term for the Ad Hoc Committee on Religious Liberty and the proposal of a working group for the limited revision of their 2007 document Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship with a new introductory note.

All three action items passed in unanimous voice votes. More information on the bishops’ General Assembly is available online: www.usccb.org/about/leadership/usccb-general-assembly/index.cfm
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Keywords: U.S. bishops, USCCB, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, permanent diaconate, National Directory for the Formation, Ministry and Life of Permanent Deacons in the United States, Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty, Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship

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