ARCHBISHOP GOMEZ ELECTED VICE PRESIDENT OF U.S. CONFERENCE OF CATHOLIC BISHOPS
November 15, 2016  |  By:   |  Archbishop Gomez, Press Releases  |  

Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles was elected vice president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) during the bishops’ annual fall General Assembly today in Baltimore. Archbishop Gomez has served as chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Migration and is currently a papal appointee to the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.

“These are challenging times for the Church in our society. But we go with God and every Catholic knows that we have a great mission — to share the good news about God and to tell our brothers and sisters about his mercy and his beautiful plan for our lives and our world,” said Archbishop Gomez.

Archbishop Gomez was elected to a three-year term and succeed Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, who was elected USCCB president today. The new president and vice president’s terms begin at the conclusion of the General Assembly, November 16.

Several committee leaders were also elected during the annual assembly, including Bishop Robert Barron, Auxiliary Bishop for the Santa Barbara Pastoral Region, who will lead the Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis.

Archbishop Gomez is the spiritual leader and the nation’s largest Catholic Archdiocese. For more than a decade, he has been a voice of compassion and reason on moral and spiritual issues in American public life and culture. Archbishop Gomez has played a leading role in the Catholic Church’s efforts to promote immigration reform, marriage and the family, and vocations to the priesthood. He has been instrumental in promoting the leadership of Hispanics and women in the Church and in American society, as a founding member of the Catholic Association of Latino Leaders and Endow (Educating on the Nature and Dignity of Women). Archbishop Gomez is a native of Monterrey, Mexico, and a naturalized American citizen. Prior to becoming Archbishop of Los Angeles, he served as Archbishop of San Antonio (2005–2010) and Auxiliary Bishop of Denver (2001–2005). He is the first Hispanic to serve as Archbishop of Los Angeles, as well as the highest-ranking Hispanic bishop in the United States.

Below is a statement from Archbishop Gomez on the election in English and Spanish.

Statement on Election as Vice-President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Most Reverend José H. Gomez

Archbishop of Los Angeles

 Baltimore, Maryland

November 15, 2016

I am honored and humbled by this election. And I am grateful to my brother bishops for their confidence in me.

This is really about the whole family of God in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, not only me. I think this is recognition that the Church is alive and growing in Los Angeles and that we are doing great things in spreading the Gospel and serving our brothers and sisters in need.

I also think this is a recognition of how important Latino Catholics are to the growth and the future of the Church.

So I look forward to working with my friend, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, and all my brother bishops, to serve the family of God here in the United States. 

I am especially looking forward to working on the Fifth Encuentro and the Convocation on the Joy of the Gospel in the Americas. Both of these initiatives will bring great blessings to our Church and will help us to inspire and raise up a new generation of missionary disciples.

It is also a joy and a blessing that my brother, Auxiliary Bishop Robert Barron of Los Angeles, was elected today to be the chairman of the bishops’ Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis. I am happy for him and I know he will help the bishops do great things to advance the Church’s mission.

These are challenging times for the Church in our society. But we go with God and every Catholic knows that we have a great mission — to share the good news about God and to tell our brothers and sisters about his mercy and his beautiful plan for our lives and our world.

We also need to continue our important work so that our society respects the sanctity and dignity of every human person — from the child in the womb, to the immigrant who does not have “papers,” to the elderly and the terminally ill.

So I am entrusting everything to Our Lady of Guadalupe and I am grateful for this chance to proclaim the joy of the Gospel and help build God’s Kingdom here in the United States and throughout the Americas.  

 

Declaración sobre la elección como vicepresidente de la Conferencia Católica de Obispos de Estados Unidos

 Monseñor José H. Gomez 

Arzobispo de Los Ángeles

Baltimore, Maryland

15 de noviembre, 2016

Me siento honrado con esta elección. Y estoy agradecido con mis hermanos obispos por su confianza en mí.

Esto se trata realmente sobre toda la familia de Dios en la Arquidiócesis de Los Ángeles, no sólo de mí. Yo creo que éste es un reconocimiento de que la Iglesia está viva y creciendo en Los Ángeles y que estamos haciendo grandes cosas para expandir el Evangelio y servir a nuestros hermanos y hermanas necesitados.

También creo que es un reconocimiento a lo importante que son los católicos latinos en el crecimiento y el futuro de la Iglesia.

Así que espero con interés, trabajar con mi amigo, el Cardenal Daniel DiNardo, y con todos mis hermanos obispos, para servir a la familia de Dios aquí en Estados Unidos.

En especial, espero con interés trabajar en el Quinto Encuentro y en la Convocatoria del Gozo del Evangelio en las Américas. Ambas iniciativas traerán grandes bendiciones a nuestra Iglesia y nos ayudarán a inspirar y elevar a una nueva generación de discípulos misioneros.

También es una alegría y una bendición que mi hermano, el Obispo Auxiliar Robert Barron de Los Ángeles, fuera elegido hoy para ser el presidente de la Comisión Episcopal de Evangelización y Catequesis. Estoy feliz por él y sé que él ayudará a los obispos a hacer grandes cosas para avanzar la misión de la Iglesia.

Estos son tiempos desafiantes para la Iglesia en nuestra sociedad. Pero vamos con Dios y cada católico sabe que tenemos una gran misión, compartir las buenas nuevas sobre Dios y contarles a nuestros hermanos y hermanas sobre su misericordia y su bello plan para nuestras vidas y para nuestro mundo.

También tenemos que continuar nuestra importante obra para que nuestra sociedad respete la santidad y dignidad de cada persona, desde el bebé en el vientre, hasta el inmigrante que no tiene “papeles”, hasta el anciano y el desahuciado.

Así que yo estoy confiando todo a Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe y estoy agradecido por esta oportunidad para proclamar el gozo del Evangelio y ayudar a construir el Reino de Dios aquí en los Estados Unidos y por todas las Américas. 

# # #