WASHINGTON - The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is likely to elect its first black president during a four-day meeting that begins Monday.
Diversity also will be the focus, and the group will renew the church's fight against abortion, while proposing a day of prayer for peace as the war in Afghanistan continues.
Bishop Joseph Fiorenza of Texas is finishing his three-year term as head of the group, which serves as the church's national voice on social, political, and religious issues.
Bishop Wilton Gregory of Belleville, Ill., now the organization's vice president, is expected to succeed him. Conference vice presidents are traditionally elected president.
The vote is scheduled for Tuesday.
The Roman Catholic Church in the United States is 78 percent white, according to the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University, and black Catholics have long sought recognition from church leaders.
Estimates of the number of black Catholics range from 2 million to 3.5 million, out of 63.7 million nationwide.
The bishops also are concerned about serving the growing number of Asian Catholic immigrants. Bishop Fiorenza, from Galveston-Houston, estimates 2.6 percent of U.S. Catholics are Asian or Pacific Islanders.
A 53-year-old Chicago native, Bishop Gregory was ordained a priest in 1973 and later earned a doctorate in sacred liturgy from the Pontifical Liturgical Institute in Rome. He became a bishop in 1983, serving for 10 years as auxiliary bishop under the late Cardinal Joseph Bernardin in Chicago.
Bishop Gregory was installed as the Belleville bishop seven years ago, becoming the spiritual leader for 105,000 Catholics in a diocese that covers roughly the southern third of Illinois.
The bishops also will propose designating Jan. 1 as a National Day of Prayer for Peace as the war on terrorism continues.
The bishops plan to renew their fight against abortion, human embryo research, and physician-assisted suicide.
Bishop Fiorenza applauded last week's directive from Attorney General John Ashcroft that doctors who use federally controlled drugs to help terminally ill patients die will face suspension or revocation of their licenses. A federal judge has granted a temporary restraining order barring the directive.
Also, the bishops will be asked to approve amendments to canon law to allow laymen to preach in church under certain circumstances. The changes were first proposed two years ago, in part to address the priest shortage and needs of non-English-speaking parishioners. The Vatican must approve any revisions.