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.
Pope Francis and members of his international Council of Cardinals discussed the possibility of allowing local bishops rather than the Vatican decide on certain matters.