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U.S. bishops meet this week, will review health care guidelines
By Gina Christian, OSV News
During its 2025 fall plenary assembly, which will take place Nov. 10-13 in Baltimore, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops will consider possible revisions to its “Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services,” or ERD, document.
Now in its sixth edition, the ERD document — developed in consultation with medical professionals and theologians, and regularly reviewed by the USCCB — articulates ethical standards for health care in light of Church teaching, and provides authoritative guidance on moral issues encountered by Catholic health care.
U.S. bishops elect Archbishop Paul S. Coakley as USCCB president
By Tyler Arnold | Catholic News Agency
Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City was elected to serve as the next president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) in a secret ballot on Nov. 11.
Bishops chose Bishop Daniel Flores of Brownsville, Texas, to serve as vice president. Flores, who serves in the southernmost diocese in Texas, finished second in balloting for president. Coakley subsequently won a runoff.
Sought in pilgrimage, Venerable Augustus Tolton is still inspiring faith and justice.
Linda Lysakowski recounts a recent trip to the birthplace of and commemorative sites honoring the nation’s first openly Black Catholic priest.
In mid-September, 13 pilgrims from St. Bernadette Catholic Church in Kansas City, Missouri, and Nativity of Mary Church in Independence traveled on a pilgrimage to honor Venerable Augustus Tolton and pray for his canonization. Tolton was the first openly African-American priest in the United States. For those who are unaware of Fr Tolton, a little background is in order.
In the 19th century, Missouri was a slave-holding state that encouraged Southern enslavers to migrate there with the African Americans they held in bondage. In the Monroe County census of 1860, there were 11,722 whites and 3,063 slaves. White owners who were Catholic often baptized those they enslaved into the Catholic faith. John Augustus Tolton was baptized “Augustine” in St. Peter’s Catholic Church in Brush Creek, Ralls County.
A pastoral reflection on voting rights and the call to justice
by Bishop Joseph N. Perry | OSV News
In recent months, renewed attention has been given to the Voting Rights Act of 1965 — a landmark piece of legislation that helped secure the right to vote for Black Americans, particularly in the South, where discriminatory practices persisted even after the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The Supreme Court recently heard a case that will have wide implications for how the Voting Rights Act is enforced. The court has the power to preserve the kinds of protections our faith motivates us to defend and must do so.