7 steps to a church worth connecting to.

The high cost of Catholic education leaves many in the dust. One mother argues that it will take the whole church to pick up the children who are left behind.

A few years ago, when Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne addressed the annual Catholic Social Ministry Gathering in Washington together with conservative commentator William Bennett, the panel’s moderator noted that both belonged to the same parish. He quipped that their pastor had to be either very good or very vague.

Young people can change the world, this Muslim interfaith organizer says. They just need a chance to share their traditions with each other.

We can learn a lot from people who left the church, whether we can win them back or not.

Last year father James Chukwuma Okoye C.S.SP. went home to Nigeria for a visit.

The history of African American Catholicism began with the arrival of the Spanish settlers in the 16th century in Florida. In fact, on the first page of the 16th-century baptismal registers are the names of black infants who were baptized into the Body of Christ along with white infants in St. Augustine Church.

On vacation last summer, I quietly joined a small country parish for Sunday Eucharist. Relieved at not having to preside at two or three liturgies, I settled among the worshipers, looking forward to listening, singing, and praying. Trying not to look directly at the priest for fear he would think I was staring, I concentrated on being among God's people, not leading them.

Dissentt!