UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter
Jan. 05, 2012
By John L Allen Jr
An ad limina visit, the trip Catholic bishops are required to make every five years to Rome, is a bit like a routine physical. It might flag a serious problem, but usually it’s just a checkup covering a wide variety of aches, pains, and ups and downs.
If nothing else, it’s revealing to learn what doctor and patient are thinking about, because it might provide hints of treatments to come.
That’s been the tenor of the latest round of visits by U.S. bishops that began in November and will continue in 2012. Predictably, Pope Benedict XVI’s own priorities — the push for a “new evangelization,” meaning outreach to lapsed Catholics, and the defense of religious freedom — have figured prominently. Yet a variety of other issues have also surfaced, including:
•The sexual abuse crisis;
•American debates over marriage and the family;
•The new translation of the Catholic Mass;
•The state of Catholic schools, hospitals and charities;
•Parish closings;
•Vocations and seminary life;
•The changing demographics of the American church.
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