Pope, U.S. Catholic Hierarchy to Tackle Vatican Relations in March

Pope John Paul II and the U.S. Catholic hierarchy, who sparred over the issue of church dissent during the pontiff’s visit to Los Angeles in 1987, will tackle the volatile issue of U.S.-Vatican relations in a March meeting in Rome.

More than 30 U.S. bishops and two Eastern Rite metropolitans have been invited to the March 8-11 meeting, which follows a year of private discussions with U.S. bishops, the United States Catholic Conference said Monday.

“It was a good start in Los Angeles, and now we hope to make it a little more in-depth,” said Archbishop John L. May of St. Louis, president of the National Conference of Catholic bishops. “He is very strong for the meeting. He wants to have it.”