WASHINGTON - Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has appointed Dr. Julie H. Rubio to serve on the National Review Board (NRB). The NRB was established as part of the Charter for Protection of Children and Young People and advises the bishops’ Committee on the Protection of Children and Young People adopted by the U.S. bishops in 2002 to address allegations of sexual abuse of minors by Catholic clergy.

In his letter of appointment to Dr. Rubio, Archbishop Gomez emphasized the role of the National Review Board as playing “a vital role as a consultative body assisting the bishops in ensuring the complete implementation and accountability of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People. As stated in the Charter, ‘The whole Church, especially the laity, at both the diocesan and national levels, needs to be engaged in maintaining safe environments in the Church for children and young people.’”

WASHINGTON—Since 2001, the United States has been involved in Afghanistan, and later Iraq, in military and a nation-building capacities. During that time, Afghan and Iraqi nationals have assisted U.S. troops, diplomats, and government humanitarian personnel in the region by providing translation, interpretation, security, transportation, and other vital services, often at great risk to themselves and their families. In 2006, the U.S. Congress first authorized a bipartisan humanitarian program to provide Special Immigrant Visas (SIV) for nationals from Afghanistan and Iraq that include resettlement services and legal permanent residence for the approved principal applicants, their spouses, and children.

Since the creation of the program, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Migration and Refugee Services (MRS) team has worked with the U.S. Department of State, the Office of Refugee Resettlement and other nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to provide resettlement services to some of the over 73,000 Afghan SIV holders and their families. The USCCB has also advocated periodically before Congress to extend and improve the program.

WASHINGTON- On Wednesday evening, the House voted 217 to 212 in favor of H.R. 4373, the State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs (SFOPs) appropriations bill. H.R. 4373 excludes the Helms Amendment, which says that “no foreign assistance funds may be used to pay for the performance of abortion as a method of family planning or to motivate or coerce any person to practice abortions.”   

Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee for Religious Liberty, Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann of Kansas City in Kansas, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Pro-Life Activities, and Bishop David J. Malloy of Rockford, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on International Justice and Peace, issued the following statement: