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WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The archbishop who heads the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has appointed the chairmen of five USCCB committees to an informal working group on the implementation of Pope Francis' recent apostolic exhortation "Amoris Laetitia."
The hope is that the working group would have a fuller understanding of the range of activities to implement the document by mid-September, said Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Kentucky, USCCB president.
The working group will marshal the resources of the USCCB to assist bishops with the positive reception and ongoing implementation of "Amoris Laetitia," to learn the various initiatives taking place in the diocese to help with a positive reception, and to update the Vatican on various initiatives, especially with the hope of offering Pope Francis an update at the time of the annual curial visits.
Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Philadelphia, chairman-elect of the bishops' Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth, and a delegate to last October's Synod of Bishops on the family, agreed to coordinate the working group.
The other members of the working group include:
-- Bishop Michael Burbidge of Raleigh, North Carolina, chairman of the Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations.
-- Archbishop Bernard A. Hebda of St. Paul and Minneapolis, chairman of the Committee on Canonical Affairs and Church Governance.
-- Bishop Richard J. Malone of Buffalo, chairman of the Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth.
-- Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron of Detroit, chairman of the Committee on Doctrine.
"Amoris Laetitia" was issued in April after synods in 2014 and 2015.