From Our Sunday Visitor, Russell Shaw gives a brief history of USCCB and at the end of the article mentions that the bishops will undertake a major restructuring of the body in the fall.
Even before the abuse crisis erupted, the winds of change had begun to blow for the bishops’ conference. Bishops complained about the rising costs of supporting the national organization while they were cutting back on diocesan programs and staff. It was widely agreed that the USCCB had grown too big, too expensive and too remote from grass-roots needs.
In response, the bishops in the last several years have prepared the way for a major restructuring that will allow them to shape the conference’s programs, budget and staff around a limited number of clearly identified priorities. The conference will vote on a new structure at its annual fall meeting.
Will they cut the massive and bloated bureaucracy? Will the bishops take control back from the bureaucrats who set the agenda for the conference and manipulate the national priorities for the Church in the US? We can only hope so.
