A spokeswoman for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops emphasized that the bishops’ conference has no authority over individual dioceses.
The conference “is not a governing body, and as such, it has no authority to intervene in matters dealing with decisions made in an individual diocese,” said Chieko Noguchi. “The USCCB seeks to facilitate dialogue among its bishop members, while also respecting the right of individual bishops to speak as they deem appropriate.”
The USCCB issued its statement because of inquiries over recent “matters pertaining to decisions made in individual (arch)dioceses.” The statement follows Cardinal Blase Cupich’s decision to give a lifetime achievement award to Sen. Richard Durbin.