On Nov. 12, the U.S. bishops elected Archbishop Gomez to be the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops on the first ballot.

Archbishop Gomez leads the largest U.S. diocese, Los Angeles, home to more than four million Catholics, and has been a vocal proponent of rights for immigrants.

In a news conference after the presentation, Bishop Barron said he wasn't surprised by the lengthy conversation about bringing people back to church

Watch talks by James Martin, S.J., Sr. Peggy O'Neill and more here.

Cardinal O'Malley said of meeting with the Vatican secretary of state in early November: "The long wait has resulted in great frustration on the part of bishops and our people and indeed a very harsh and even cynical interpretation of the seeming silence."

Charles Taylor is a philosopher who has focused much of his work on secularism; Father Paul Bere is known particularly for his contributions to developing an African theology.