t eanc 0 VOL. 40, NO. 43 •
Friday, November 8, 1996
By Jerry Fitteau WASHINGTON (CNS) - At their November meeting in Washington, the U.S. bishops are to vote on a pastoral ~lan for ministry with young adulrs. Also on the bishops' agenda are: - A proposed statement of economic justice principles. - Norms for Catholic higher education. . - Several liturgy decisions. - Plans for restructuring the National Conference of Catholic Bishops and U.S. Catholic Conference, the bishops' twin national conferences. - A proposal to provide $1 million to fund their national Office for the Third Millennium from 1997 to 2000. . - Various decisions on priorities, plans and budget. The Nov. 11-14 meeting could be the last one the bishops conduct as NCCB-USCC. One of the restructuring propo~als calls for merging the two conferences into one and renaming it the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, or USCCB. The 76-page draft document on young adult ministry is titled "Sons and Daughters of the Light: A Pastoral Plan for Ministry With Young Adults." Developed by the
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Youth News
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FALL RIVER, MASS.
bishops' Committee on the Laity after national and diocesan consultations with young adults, it requires approval by two-thirds of the bishops for passage.
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FALL RIVER DIOCESAN NEWSPAPER FOR SOUTHEAST MASSACHUSETTS CAPE COD & THE ISLANDS Southeastern Massachusetts' Largest Weekly
sonal identity, their relationships, their spiritual life and their understanding of the meaning of work. It speaks about the vision of faith and the call of young adults
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.THE NOV. 11-14 bishops' meeting in Washington, D.e., could be the last one conducted as the NCCB-USCe. One of the restructuring proposals calls for the merging of the two conferences into one and renaming it the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, or USCCB. It seeks to address spiritual and pastoral issues young adults face as they enter new stages in education, work, independence, family relationships and their place in society. It discusses the tasks young adults face in dev.eloping their per-
to holiness, to community and to service. It discusses church ministry with young adults on campus and in parish and diocesan life. It focuses on four goals - connecting young adults with the church, with Jesus Christ, with the church's mission in the world and
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with a peer community - and suggests objectives and strategies for each goal. "A Catholic Framework for Economic Life" is a statement jointly proposed by the bishops' domestic and international policy committees. It seeks to boil down to 10 short statements the ethical framework Catholics should use "as principles for reflection, criteria for judgment and directions for action" in the world of work and economic life. "The economy exists for the person, not the other way around," says the first principle. "All people have a right to life and to the basic necessities oflife," says the fourth. Other principles address areas such as human dignity, the rights of the poor and needy and the rights and obligations of workers, owners, managers, consumers and government in economic life. The proposed statement comes 10 years after the bishops' landmark pastoral letter, "Liberty and Justice for All: Catholic Social Teaching and the U.S. Economy." Mercy Sister Sharon A. Euart, NCCB associate general secretary, has described the 10 principles as the equivalent of summarizing the Turn to Page 13