Archbishop says cost cutting, strategic planning aim of USCCB changes

Published: 2006-10-09

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The purpose in restructuring the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and downsizing its staff is not just to cut costs but to help it plan better and work better, said Archbishop Michael J. Sheehan of Santa Fe, N.M. As USCCB secretary, Archbishop Sheehan heads the bishops' Committee on Priorities and Plans, which is overseeing the reorganization. The committee's proposals are to be debated and voted on when the bishops meet in Baltimore in mid-November. The goal of the reorganization is "not just the cost-saving thing, but to implement strategic planning. It's about strategic planning," the archbishop said in a telephone interview with Catholic News Service a month before the meeting. He said the recommendations of the USCCB Task Force on Activities and Resources, overwhelmingly approved by the bishops in 2004, set the framework for the reorganization. At the core of those recommendations, he said, was "reorganizing the conference in such a way that the focus is on priorities -- what are the top priorities that the bishops want to work on -- and to set the priorities for five years at a time."

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