Bishops Elect Chairs-Elect of Five Committees, Bishop Cistone elected to CRS board

BALTIMORE — The United States Conference of Catholic Bishop (USCCB), meeting for their Fall General Assembly, elected by simple majority the chairmen-elect of five committees.

-- Archbishop Robert Carlson of St. Louis was elected Chairman of the Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocation in a 118-114 vote over Bishop Michael Burbidge of Raleigh, N.C.

-- Archbishop Gregory Aymond of New Orleans was elected Chairman of the Committee on Divine Worship.

-- Bishop Stephen Blaire of Stockton, Calif. was elected Chairman of the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development.

-- Bishop Kevin Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Ind. was elected Chairman of the Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth.

-- Archbishop José Gomez of San Antonio was elected Chairman of the Committee on Migration.

Chairmen-elect serve for one year in this capacity before assuming the responsibilities as chairman of a committee.

The U.S. bishops also elected members of the boards of Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC). Bishop Kevin Boland of Savannah, Ga., Bishop Denis Madden, auxiliary bishop of Baltimore, Bishop Richard Malone of Portland in Maine, and Bishop Joseph Cistone of Saginaw, Mich. were elected to the CRS board with 158, 151, 150 and 146 votes, respectively. Bishop Richard Garcia of Monterey, Calif., and Bishop Eusebio Elizondo, MSpS, auxiliary bishop of Seattle, were elected to the board of CLINIC with 164 and 163 votes, respectively.