BALTIMORE (MD)
National Catholic Reporter

Joshua J. McElwee | Nov. 11, 2013 NCR Today
Fall bishops’ meeting 2013

BALTIMORE As the U.S. bishops start their annual meeting here Monday morning, they are facing a number of tough choices: Who to elect as their new president, what tone to adopt in the new Pope Francis era, and how to engage the wider culture.

Another hard decision: Where to eat dinner each night, and with whom.

If the stakes on this one seem a bit more personal, perhaps they are. But Tomas Murray, a member of a Catholic Worker community in Ohio, thinks where the bishops choose to eat also sends a significant message about how they see the role of the U.S. Catholic church.

Murray is one of several people hosting an alternative dinner option for the prelates on Tuesday night. They want the focus of their meal, held…