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The Catholic Biblical Constitution and
By-laws
PREAMBLE
In keeping with the love and veneration which the Church has ever
had for the inspired word of God, and in obedience to the desires of the
Holy See for a deeper study and a wider knowledge of the Sacred
Scriptures, we, who are especially devoted to biblical studies, have united,
under the patronage of Saint Jerome, to form this Association.
ARTICLE I
The name of this Association shall be THE CATHOLIC BIBLICAL
ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA.
ARTICLE II
PURPOSE
As a religious, scientific, non-profit organization, this Association
shall have the following aims:
Section 1: To devote itself to the scientific study of the Bible and to such
branches of learning as are connected with it, in conformity with the spirit
and the instructions of the Catholic Church, which the Association
acknowledges to be the only divinely appointed custodian and
authoritative interpreter of the Holy Scriptures.
Section 2: To cooperate with the Hierarchy and in particular with the
Episcopal Committee of the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine in
expounding and defending the teachings of the Church regarding the Bible
and in promoting a greater love for and a deeper knowledge of the Sacred
Scriptures.
Section 3: To promote a better mutual acquaintance among the Catholic
biblical scholars of America and to provide them with encouragement and
support in their special fields of study.
ARTICLE III
MEMBERSHIP
Section 1: The membership in this Association shall consist of active
members, associate members, and sustaining members. All members shall
pay the same dues. The respective qualifications, rights, and privileges
of each class of membership shall be determined in the By-laws; but only
the active members shall enjoy the active and passive voice.
Section 2: Any eligible person who contributes the sum specified in the
By-laws shall be designated a life member.
Section 3: Life members whose total contributions amount to the sum
specified in the By-laws shall be honored with the title of Patron.
Section 4: From time to time the Association may elect honorary life
members as provided for in the By-laws. Honorary life members shall be
subject to no dues and shall enjoy the privileges accorded to associate
members as specified by the By-laws.
ARTICLE IV
ADMINISTRATION
Section 1: The supreme authority in the Association resides in the active
members duly assembled in general meeting. However, before decisions
in matters of great importance are made, the Episcopal Committee of
Christian Doctrine shall be consulted.
Section 2: Between general meetings the Association shall be governed
by an Executive Board consisting of a President, a Vice-President, an
Executive Secretary, a Treasurer, a General Editor of The Catholic
Biblical Quarterly (CBQ), a General Editor of Old Testament Abstracts
(OTA), a General Editor of the Catholic Biblical Quarterly--Monograph
Series (CBQMS) Editorial Board, a Chair of the Board of Trustees, and
four Consultors. These members of the Executive Board shall be duly
elected or appointed according to the prescriptions of the By-laws.
Section 3: The Board of Trustees shall consist of five members duly
elected or appointed according to the prescriptions of the By-laws.
ARTICLE V
DUTIES OF THE OFFICERS
Section 1: The duties of the President shall be:
(a) To act as chief executive officer of the association;
(b) To preside at the general meeting and at the meetings of the
Executive Board.
Section 2: The duties of the Vice-President shall be:
(a) To assist the President in his/her duties;
(b) To act as substitute for the President in the latter's absence
from the general meeting or from a meeting of the Executive
Board.
Section 3: The duties of the Executive Secretary shall be:
(a) To record the minutes of the meetings of the Executive Board
and to keep the records and papers of the Association;
(b) To conduct the correspondence and ordinary administrative
affairs of the Association according to the instructions of the
Executive Board;
(c) To issue official communications to the members at the
direction of the President;
(d) To sign contracts and other official papers in the name of the
Association at the direction the Executive Board.
Section 4: The duties of the Treasurer shall be:
(a) To receive the monies of the Association, and to make
disbursements as provided for by the By-laws or the
Executive Board or by the members in general meeting;
(b) To act as business manager of the periodical
publications of the Association;
(c) To draw up and submit to the President at the end
of each month an itemized account of the income and
expenses for the month;
(d) To submit a quarterly financial statement to the
members of the Executive Board;
(e) To submit annually to the members in general
meeting a financial statement for the year.
Section 5: The duties of the Editor of CBQ shall be:
(a) To serve as Chair of the CBQ Editorial Board;
(b) To prepare The Catholic Biblical Quarterly (CBQ)
for publication as the official organ of the
association;
(c) To accept, after due consultation with other
members of the CBQ Editorial Board, and to edit
manuscripts for publication in the official organ.
Section 6: The duties of the General Editor of OTA shall be :
(a) To serve as chair of the OTA Editorial Board;
(b) To receive exchange and gift periodicals, as well
as books from publishers, and, assisted by abstractors
designated by the Editor, to prepared and edit
abstracts for publication.
Section 7: The duties of the General Editor of the CBQMS Editorial
Board shall be:
(a) To preside at meetings of the CBQMS Editorial
Board;
(b) To accept, after consultation with members of the
board, manuscripts for the CBQMS and to prepare them
for publication.
Section 8: The duties of the Chair of the Board of Trustees shall be:
(a) To consult the other trustees;
(b) To safeguard and supervise with the consent of
the majority of the Board of Trustees the finances of
the Association through proper and safe investments.
ARTICLE VI
EDITORIAL BOARDS
Section 1: The Editor of CBQ shall be assisted by an Editorial Board
whose membership shall be duly elected as specified in the By-laws.
Section 2: Members of the CBQMS Editorial Board shall be duly elected
as specified in the By-laws; their function shall be to assist the General
Editor.
Section 3: Special editorial boards for other projects may be set up by the
Episcopal Committee of the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine or by the
members in general meeting.
ARTICLE VII
COMMITTEES
Section 1: There shall be a Committee on Nominations consisting of
four members duly elected as determined in the By-laws. This committee
shall make nominations for all the elective offices of the Association as
provided for in the Constitution and By-laws, but nominations from the
floor shall have equal standing.
Section 2: There shall be a Committee on Credentials, consisting of
three members, duly selected as determined by the By-laws, to examine
the qualifications of candidates for election to active membership or
associate membership, and to recommend for election to active
membership or associate membership at the general meeting those
candidates who are found qualified for the respective membership.
Section 3: There shall be a Committee on Resolutions consisting of three
members appointed by the President. This committee shall be empowered
to formulate and to present at the business session resolutions requested
by the Executive Board. Individual members or groups wishing to present
resolutions shall be required to confer with the Committee on Resolutions
concerning the formulation of their resolutions. The text of the
resolutions shall be distributed to the active members at least 24 hours
before the business session, if the Committee deems it advisable.
Section 4: Other committees to carry out the work of the Association
may be appointed by the President.
ARTICLE VIII
REGIONAL CHAPTERS
Section 1: The Association encourages and approves the establishment
of regional chapters of the Association in conformity with this
Constitution.
Section 2: Formal recognition and approval of regional chapters shall be
made and maintained in accordance with the provision of the By-laws.
ARTICLE IX
AMENDMENTS AND BY-LAWS
Section 1: This Constitution may be amended by a vote of two-thirds of
the active members present in general meeting, provided that official
notice of any proposed amendment shall have been sent to the members
of the Association at least one month before the meeting at which it is to
be considered.
Section 2: By-laws which are not inconsistent with this Constitution
may be adopted, changed, or abrogated by a majority vote of the active
members present and voting in general meeting, provided that the
Executive Secretary has sent notice of the new By-law or of the change
or abrogation of the By-law to the members at least two weeks before the
meeting at which the matter is to be considered.
BY-LAWS
1.-II,2: In order to facilitate the cooperation with the Board
of Trustees of the Confraternity of Christian
Doctrine, the headquarters of the Association shall be
in Washington, D.C.
2.-II,3: The Association shall ordinarily hold a general
meeting each year at the place and time selected by
the Executive Board.
3.-III,1: (a) All members shall pay annual dues in the amount
determined by the Association at its general meetings.
However, the Executive Board may, for special reasons,
grant membership to certain persons or groups who
shall be exempt from this annual assessment.
(b) From time to time the Association shall publish at
the discretion of the Executive Board a list of its
active and associate members.
(c) All the members shall receive without additional cost the
official organ of the Association. All the members shall likewise receive a
discount of 20% on the sale of books which are published by the Association or
which are advertised for sale by the Association.
4.-III,1: (a) Candidates for active membership must have the degree
of Licentiate in Sacred Scripture, or the equivalent
in graduate training or in scholarly publication, and
this equivalent is to be determined and explained in
each case by the Committee on Credentials.
(b) Candidates for associate membership must have
taught Sacred Scripture for at least one year at
major-seminary level or at least two years at college
level, or must be engaged in higher studies in the
biblical or allied field.
(c) Candidates for either active membership or
associate membership must be sponsored in writing by
an active member of the Association. The Executive
Secretary shall supply all candidates with appropriate
application blanks. All applications for active or
associate membership must be received at headquarters
at least one month before the day on which new active
and associate members are nominated and elected to the
respective membership.
(d) Attendance at general meetings of the Association
shall be limited to active and associate members and
to those persons who receive an invitation at the
request of the President. Papers at the general
meetings may be presented only by active members, or
by other persons at the invitation of the President.
5.-III,2: A contribution of $1,000.00 qualify a person for life
membership.
6.-III,3: A contribution of $5,000.00 or more will entitle a
person to be honored as a Patron.
7.-III,4: (a) Honorary life members shall be scholars noteworthy
for their contributions to biblical studies. They may
be elected to membership at any general meeting of the
Association on the recommendation of the Executive
Board. Any active member may propose the name of a
candidate for honorary membership, but all such
proposals must be received in writing at the
headquarters of the Association at least one month
prior to the meeting of the Executive Board in
connection with the general meeting.
(b) The number of honorary life members shall never
exceed twenty at any given time.
8.-IV,1: (a) Ten percent of the active membership of the
Association shall suffice to constitute a quorum at a
general meeting, provided that official notice of the
meeting has been duly sent to all the active members
at least one month in advance.
(b) Unless otherwise specified in the Constitution or
the By-laws, all matters to be considered by the
active members shall be decided by a majority of the
active members present and voting.
9.-IV,2: (a) The Executive Board shall meet at the time of the
general meeting, shortly before its business session.
The President, if he/she deems it advisable, may call
for others meetings of the Executive Board at other
times of the year.
(b) The President, Vice-President, Executive
Secretary, and Treasurer shall be elected at the
annual general meeting, and their term of office shall
extend from the end of the general meeting at which
they have been elected until the end of the next
general meeting. The President and the Vice-President
shall be ineligible for immediate re-election to their
respective offices.
(c) Both the Executive Secretary and the Treasurer
shall reside in or near Washington, D.C., so that both
of them may take an active part in the business
conducted at the headquarters of the Association.
(d) At every general meeting two Consultors of the
Executive Board shall be elected by the members to
serve for a term of two years.
(e) The Editor of CBQ shall be elected by the
Editorial Board for a stated term.
(f) The General Editor of OTA shall be elected by the
membership for a term of four years.
(g) The General Editor of CBQMS shall be elected by
the membership for a term of four years.
10.-IV,3: (a) The trustees shall meet at the time of the general
meeting, and at such times as may be necessary. Their
report is to be made to the members of the Association
at the time of the general meeting.
(b) The Chair of the Board of Trustees shall be
elected for a period of three years by the general
meeting, and the other members shall be selected or
confirmed by the new Executive Board.
11.-V,1: (a) The President shall appoint a Recording Secretary,
to record the minutes of the general meeting and to
prepare a statement on the proceedings of the meeting
for publication in the official organ of the
Association.
(b) At each general meeting the President shall
appoint two active members as auditors to examine the
accounts of the Treasurer and the Board of Trustees,
and to report the results to the Executive Board.
12.-V,2: In case of the death or resignation of the President,
the Vice-President shall succeed to the President's
office until the completion of the term. In case of
the absence of the Chair of the Board of Trustees, the
other members of this board shall select one of their
number to act as temporary Chair. In case of the
death or resignation of any of the officers other than
the President, the Executive Board shall elect a
member to fill the vacancy till the next general
meeting of the Association.
13.-V,4: Besides the ordinary disbursements approved by the
Constitution or the By-laws or by the members in
general meeting, the Treasurer may, according to
his/her prudent judgment and in keeping with the
provisions of Article V, Section 4(c) and (d), expend
on individual items sums of money for office needs not
exceeding $1,000. Between general meetings, the
Treasurer may, under the same conditions, expend on
individual items sums of money for association needs not
exceeding $5,000, provided written approval of the President,
the Vice-President, and the Executive Secretary has been
obtained. For the expenditure of higher sums, in
cases of emergency between general meetings, the
Executive Secretary shall submit, at the request of
the Treasurer, a resolution to the Executive Board;
the expenditure as stated in the resolution may be
made provided it is approved in writing by two-thirds
of those of the Executive Board whose votes are
received within fifteen days after the resolution is
mailed. For current expenses the Treasurer shall have
a deposit in a commercial bank of a sum ordinarily not
in excess of $20,000, which may be drawn on by the
Treasurer's signature or that of the Executive
Secretary.
14.-V,5: The Catholic Biblical Quarterly shall be a periodical
devoted to scholarly articles on subjects connected
with the scientific study of the Bible.
15.-V,6: The Chair of the Board of Trustees shall require the
written approval of at least two other trustees to
invest the monies of the Association or to make bank
withdrawals for extraordinary requirements of the
Executive Board.
16.-VI,1: At the annual general meeting at least five Associate
Editors shall be elected for a term of four years.
Associate Editors may not serve more than two
consecutive terms.
17.-VI,2: New members of the CBQMS Editorial Board shall be
elected, as needed, by the active members in general
meeting.
18.-VII,1:At the annual general meeting one member of the
Committee on Nominations shall be nominated by the
Executive Board for a term of four years. At the
completion of this term that member shall not be
eligible for immediate reelection to this office. The
member of the Committee who is completing his/her
fourth year in office shall act as Chair of this
Committee. Unless otherwise specified in the
Constitution and By-laws, officers and committee
members are eligible for immediate reelection or re-
appointment to their respective office.
19.-VII,2:The Committee on Credentials shall consist of the
Executive Secretary, who shall act as its Chair, and
of two other members appointed to this office for a
term of one year by the President.
20.-VIII,1:The establishment and organization of a regional
chapter shall be left to the determination of the
active members of the Association in the particular
area for which a regional chapter is desired.
21.-VIII,2:The Executive Board of the Association shall have the
power to formally recognize and approve regional
chapters. It shall also have the power to withdraw
such recognition and approval.
22.-VIII,2:In petitioning for recognition and approval, the
newly-formed chapter shall submit to the Executive
Board of the Association a statement of the chapter's
manner of organization and any other pertinent
information which the Executive Board may require.
The Executive Board shall then, at its discretion,
issue a statement of formal recognition and approval.
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