The first discussion, which appears on the Washington Post Web site, considers the question, “Who owns the mass?”
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The next three articles deal with the abuse of young people from various perspectives.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-dutch-catholic-abuse-20111217,0,5917792.story
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The Church speaks out in support of undocumented aliens.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/12/catholic-bishop-illegal-immigrants.html
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Video. It only takes a girl. Worth watching.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwEhKu3T51Q
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Newt Gingrich’s faith journey examined.
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The full text of the following article by Fr. Richard McBrien can be found at (http://ncronline.org).
Survey of Catholics illuminates life in the pews
… The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life issued its extraordinary report in 2009 that one in 10 Americans are former Catholics. (Indeed, if they constituted a separate denomination, it would be the second largest in the United States, after the Catholic Church itself.)
"As is true across all denominations," D'Antonio writes, "the departures appear to be especially heavy among the younger generations." So much for the widespread but mistaken belief that the younger generations are generally conservative.
However, Catholics' share of the U.S. population has remained stable at 24 percent, largely as a result of Hispanic immigration. "In the midst of this fluidity," D'Antonio continues, "no one knows the impact that the growing number of Hispanic Catholics will have on present trends."
… "Catholic identity, no longer a matter of simply knowing the Baltimore Catechism and having particular ethnic ties, has become part of the national dialogue between those with a more conservative vision and those who define the church more in terms of the Second Vatican Council (1962-65) and its documents," D'Antonio writes.
The sexual-abuse scandal in the priesthood had dramatically erupted in January 2002 because of a series of investigative articles in The Boston Globe. The previous survey in 2005 had to take this scandal into account.
But the findings showed that the scandal had "little measurable impact." The situation changed after six years of new headlines, nationally in Philadelphia and internationally in Ireland, Germany, and Austria. The current survey does take these developments into account.
… The survey also studies the impact of Catholic education on U.S. Catholics. The bishops of the United States formally established the Catholic school system in 1884, with the goal that there would be a school in every parish. The public school system was by this time overwhelmingly Protestant.
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Jesuit Fr. John O’Malley, writing for America magazine, reviews the latest book by Eamon Duffy on ten popes who changed the world.
Eamon Duffy’s latest book originated as a series on BBC. That fact alone should be enough to persuade you to buy it. Not only is Duffy an elegant stylist; he is the best qualified person in the English-speaking world to write on the subject. You will not, therefore, be disappointed in these 10 sketches that begin with St. Peter and end with John Paul II. In between are five of the usual suspects—Leo the Great, Gregory the Great, Gregory VII, Innocent III and John XXIII.
Less obvious as world-shakers are Paul III, Pius IX and Pius XII. They are also the most problematic. Of the three, the one I know best is Paul III (1534-49), who, among his other claims to fame, can boast patronage of Michelangelo. He is best remembered, however, for finally, after overcoming seemingly insuperable obstacles, convoking the Council of Trent. But he also gave impetus to a renewal of Catholic spiritual life by approving several new religious orders, of which the most important were the Ursulines and the Jesuits. Some scholars see in his pontificate, therefore, the beginning of modern Catholicism. Duffy in the few pages at his disposal is able only to hint at Paul’s dark side and at the disruptive machinations of his children and grandchildren that marred his record.
… I hope you’re tantalized.