Blogging from the Bishops' General Meeting

Stay tuned. Over the next two days, I’ll be utilizing new media to report on what’s happening at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ November General Meeting. I’ll be live-blogging here, tweeting (follow @timothydrake) and posting Facebook updates from Baltimore.

For those who would like to follow along with the televised public sessions, TelecareTV is providing live coverage.

Here’s a run-down on the agenda for the meeting.

Today, beginning at 10:30 a.m. EST, outgoing USCCB president Cardinal Francis George will deliver an address, followed by remarks from Apostolic Nuncio Pietro Sambi.

After that, the bishops will be handling various action items, including the Common Agreement on the Mutual Recognition of Baptism.

After lunch, there are a series of reports. The first will be a report from Cardinal Francis George on Christians in Iraq. There will also be a report on the Church’s response to the earthquake in Haiti, a report of the Ad Hoc Committee for the Defense of Marriage, a report on World Youth Day, a report on the Catholic University of America by new president John Garvey, a report on integrating New Media, a report on the Archdiocese for the Military Services, and a report on the Catholic Campaign for Human Development.

Tomorrow will see the election of the General Secretary-Elect, the new president and vice president, treasurer-elect and chairs-elect, and then further discussion on other action items, including whether the bishops will approve the request of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities to draft a brief policy statement on physician-assisted suicide.