Reorganization of bishops' conference seen as trimming a bureaucracy

Published: 2006-06-05

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Explaining plans to reorganize the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Archbishop Michael J. Sheehan of Santa Fe, N.M., said June 2 that "every bureaucracy tends to grow" and needs periodic trimming. When the U.S. bishops meet in Los Angeles June 15-17, Archbishop Sheehan, as secretary of the USCCB and chairman of its Committee on Priorities and Plans, will present them with a draft plan that would completely overhaul their committee structure. Once a new committee structure is adopted, it is expected to lead to reductions in staffing at the USCCB national headquarters in Washington. Under the draft proposal the bishops will discuss in Los Angeles, the 35 standing committees of the conference would be consolidated into 14, all 16 ad hoc committees would be eliminated, and the current five committees at the executive or management level would be reduced to four. A final reorganization plan is to be presented to the bishops for a vote at their November meeting.

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