On the same day the bishops decided to establish a permanent committee on religious liberty, they agreed to extend the work of an ad hoc committee on immigration.
Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory made the comments in the homily at an evening Mass said to commemorate a "Day of Prayer and Penance" for victims of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church.
Some of the issues on the bishops’ agenda—immigration and health care specifically—have already caused a great deal of tension between the White House and Catholic leaders.