U.S. Bishops to Vote for Conference Secretary and for Chairmen of Six Standing Committees at Plenary Assembly in Baltimore
WASHINGTON – When the U.S. bishops gather in November for their Fall Plenary Assembly (November 16-19), they will vote for a Conference secretary, as well as chairmen for six standing committees for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). The position of USCCB secretary is up for a vote due to the fact that Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend was elected during the bishops’ 2025 Fall Plenary Assembly to complete the term left vacant when Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City, who was serving as USCCB secretary, was elected as Conference president. Each bishop elected will serve for one year as the chairman-elect of the respective committee before beginning a three-year term at the conclusion of the bishops’ 2027 Fall Plenary Assembly. The following bishops were nominated (listed under committee in alphabetical order): USCCB SECRETARY-ELECT / CHAIRMAN-ELECT, COMMITTEE ON PRIORITIES AND PLANS Bishop Earl K. Fernandes, Diocese of Columbus Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades, Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend COMMITTEE ON CATHOLIC EDUCATION Bishop James D. Conley, Diocese of Lincoln Bishop Edmund J. Whalen, auxiliary bishop, Archdiocese of New York COMMITTEE ON COMMUNICATIONS Bishop Daniel J. Felton, Diocese of Duluth Bishop Louis Tylka, Diocese of Peoria COMMITTEE ON CULTURAL DIVERSITY IN THE CHURCH Bishop Steven J. Maekawa, O.P., Diocese of Fairbanks Bishop Michael M. Pham, Diocese of San Diego COMMITTEE ON DOCTRINE Bishop William M. Joensen, Diocese of Des Moines Bishop Steven J. Lopes, Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter COMMITTEE ON NATIONAL COLLECTIONS Bishop Mark A. Eckman, Diocese of Pittsburgh Bishop Gerald L. Vincke, Diocese of Salina COMMITTEE ON PRO-LIFE ACTIVITIES Bishop John T. Folda, Diocese of Fargo Bishop Donald J. Hying, Diocese of Madison ###
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U.S. Catholic bishops will elect a conference secretary and chairs for six standing committees at their fall plenary assembly in Baltimore. The nominees are two bishops for each position; committee chairs-elect are scheduled to begin their three-year terms after the 2027 fall assembly. 2 3
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops will meet in Baltimore from Nov. 16–19, 2026, with elections on the agenda. The secretary also chairs the Committee on Priorities and Plans, which helps set priorities for the conference. 2 3
The nominees for secretary are Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Indiana, and Bishop Earl K. Fernandes of Columbus, Ohio. Rhoades was elected in 2025 to complete the term of Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, who left the secretary’s office after being elected USCCB president. 2 3
Those elected to committee chair positions will serve a year as chair-elect before taking up three-year terms after the bishops’ fall 2027 plenary assembly. 2 3
Episcopal leadership, collegiality, and governance in the Catholic Church
Episcopal leadership in the Catholic Church joins personal responsibility, communion, and shared discernment. A bishop is not simply a manager elected by a constituency, nor an isolated ruler: he governs a particular Church as a successor of the Apostles, in communion with the Pope and the other bishops, and for the service of the whole People of God.
Through episcopal consecration and hierarchical communion, a bishop belongs to the College of Bishops, whose head is the Bishop of Rome. Bishops share the Church’s mission to sanctify, teach, and govern, and must exercise that ministry within this communion. Their bond is not merely practical cooperation; it is part of the Church’s apostolic structure.
At the diocesan level, however, the bishop has personal pastoral responsibility for the Church entrusted to him. His authority is not replaced by a committee or transferred to a diocesan assembly. At the same time, the Church’s understanding of that responsibility calls for collaboration and consultation with clergy and laity.
“Collegiality” refers to the bishops’ unity and shared responsibility as a body, always with and under the Pope. It is present in their fraternal concern for one another and for the universal Church; it is exercised in its strict sense when the College of Bishops acts together with its head.
This does not make the Church’s universal government a parliamentary system. A bishops’ conference or other regional body can coordinate pastoral work and express collegial concern, but it is not the College of Bishops acting with supreme authority over the whole Church. The Pope, as head of the College, can exercise that supreme authority individually; the College exercises it collegially with him.
Church governance is hierarchical, but it is not meant to be unlistening or solitary. Bishops are urged to hear the faithful and make use of diocesan bodies such as the diocesan synod, presbyteral council, and pastoral council. These bodies contribute counsel and participation; the bishop remains responsible for decisions entrusted to his office.
This participation is not simply an imitation of secular democracy. It follows from the fact that all the baptized share in Christ’s mission, while serving according to their distinct gifts, responsibilities, and states of life. A bishop is both teacher and disciple: he teaches in the name of Christ, and he must also listen to how the Holy Spirit is at work among the faithful.
The Catholic model, then, holds together authority and accountability to communion, leadership and listening, and unity with legitimate diversity. Its purpose is not power for its own sake, but service to the Church’s mission and the salvation of the faithful.