Liturgy, stem cells, sex abuse among topics at bishops' June meeting

Published: 2008-05-07

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Matters of liturgy and language will dominate the agenda of the U.S. bishops' spring meeting June 12-14 at the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress in Orlando, Fla. But such hot-button issues as embryonic stem-cell research, medically assisted nutrition and hydration, and clergy sex abuse also will come before the bishops. Much of the three-day meeting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops will be closed to the media, with the schedule calling for executive session, regional meetings and an afternoon of prayer and reflection. As they begin what Bishop Arthur J. Serratelli of Paterson, N.J., chairman of the USCCB Committee on Divine Worship, called "the final phase of the process of translation and approval of the Roman Missal for use in the United States," the bishops will vote on a new translation of the proper prayers for each Sunday and feast day during the liturgical year. But in a break from previous practice, the 700-page draft text of the readings was distributed to the bishops not on paper but only in electronic form, except for special requests.

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