Everyday Catholics can love and accompany those in need, according to experts that directly serve or advocate for those struggling with poverty.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops approved a “special pastoral message on immigration” Nov. 12, voicing “our concern here for immigrants” at their annual fall plenary assembly in Baltimore.

Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City was elected as the next president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. He succeeds Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services, who has served in that office since 2022, at the end of the bishops’ Nov. 10-13 fall plenary.

The U.S. bishops have given the green light to hold the 11th National Eucharistic Congress in the summer of 2029, in a Nov. 12 vote on the final public day of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Fall Plenary Assembly.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is on solid financial footing, having restructured some operations while weathering the end of key federal refugee resettlement contracts — but changes in resource allocations may be on the horizon, said the conference’s budget chair.