Don’t expect much

Just a word of caution to people: don’t expect much from the US bishops’ meeting in DC this week. For those who are not used to observing the bishops’ conference at work, the Dallas meeting was unusual. They’re more likely to spend their week debating minutiae (“Where should that comma go?“) and issuing politically liberal documents (“We think undocumented aliens who entered this country illegally and don’t pay taxes should be given access to more benefits than the average American receives every year.“) than dealing with momentous matters.

To my mind the bishops’ conference is like the Congress: the less paperwork it actually generates, the better it is for everybody.

As for the debate over the revised Dallas norms, I expect there to be an up or down vote with the vast majority voting in favor. End of story, thanks for coming. All those people down in Washington hoping to testify before the bishops should realize that the June meeting was their only shot at influential lobbying.