A new pastor walks a fine line between learning about a parish community and making administrative decisions. It takes time and balance and a lot of prayer.
From 2005 to 2010 adult baptisms fell by 41 percent. Those losses were masked by a gain in adult receptions into full communion; then those totals began to fall too.
The poet discusses "accidental theologies," Gerard Manley Hopkins, faith in literature, and what it's like no longer being the editor of Poetry magazine.
John XXIII had a program of updating; John Paul II was seen as bringing a degree of Restoration. How do their two very different legacies relate to each other?
He sat next to me. I talked about my favorite theologians, prayers, gospels. I showed him my rosary, and asked if he believed in God. And still the bus didn't come.
It's a sign of how politicized the American Catholic Church has become that its different factions were lobbying over the message the bishop of Rome should send.
After Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer vetoes bill affecting gay marriage, similar bills in other states will give us another master class in how to hold a culture war.
His choice of the name 'Francis' was a promising sign he would emulate a saint devoted to the poor and to simplicity, and he has only continued from there.
