Wharton named to U.S. bishops' National Advisory Council

Jan. 25, 2007

WASHINGTON - A member of the staff of the Diocese of Sioux City has been appointed to the National Advisory Council (NAC) of the United States Catholic Council of Bishops.

Jim Wharton, director of planned giving and director of communications for the diocese, was one of 10 new members appointed to the NAC. The names were announced on Jan. 8.

The National Advisory Council (NAC) of the USCCB is a group of 56 people from across the United States who review documentation and offer recommendations concerning issues being considered by the Bishops of the United States. This advisory body, which is made up mostly of lay people but also includes two bishops and several priests and men and women religious, meets semi-annually.

"I was appointed as one of two representatives from Region IX which emcompasses the states of Missouri - Nebraska - Iowa and Kansas," noted Wharton.

"I am grateful to Bishop Nickless for nominating me for this position and Archbishop Hanus for endorsing the recommendation and submitting it to the USCCB for their approval. I look forward to interacting with other Catholics around the U.S. all of whom share the goal of assisting our bishops and strengthening the Church in the United States."

From the 15 regions of the conference, those having regional elections in 2006 have announced the following new lay men and women representatives who will serve a four-year term: Region 5: To Be Announced. Region 9: Wharton and Karen L. Tibbs of Omaha, Neb. Region 12: Robert J. McCann of Spokane, Wash., and Ernestine Fleece of Anchorage, Ark. Region 13: Christopher R. Houk and Elvira Espinoza, both of Phoenix, Ariz.

Joining the Council in the Diocesan Priest Category, new diocesan priests representatives, elected to four-year terms, are: Father Anthony Cincinnati, Wheeling, W.V.; Monsignor Kurt H. Kemo, Steubenville, Ohio; Father Robert J. Schrader, Rochester, N.Y.; Father James P. Shea, Mandan, N.D.

The 2007 officers of the Council are Dr. Marie T. Hilliard, Philadelphia, Pa., Chairperson; Father Richard Vega, Chicago, Ill., Chairperson-Elect; Mr. Hector Rodriguez, Edinburg, Texas, Secretary; Gwendolyn M. Mitsui, Mililani, Hawii, Internal Affairs Chairperson; Sister Shalini D'Souza, SCN, Nazareth, Ky., Reactive Chairperson; Marcus Jones, Riverside, Calif., Proactive Chairperson. The Past Chairperson of the Council is Dr. Daniel E. Otero, Cincinnati, Ohio.

The advisory council's new chairwoman, Marie T. Hilliard, is director of bioethics and public policy at the National Catholic Bioethics Center in Philadelphia and former executive director of the Connecticut Catholic Conference. She succeeds Daniel E. Otero, a mathematics professor at Xavier University in Cincinnati.

The chairman-elect is Father Richard Vega, a Los Angeles priest who last April became president of the National Federation of Priests' Councils.