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According to the U.S. Religious Landscape Survey, 33 percent of U.S. Catholics reported that they attend religious services weekly. In the survey, undertaken by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, nine percent of Catholics said that they attended religious services more than once a week, while 19 percent said that they did so once or twice a month. Twenty percent of Catholics stated that they attend services a few times a year, 13 percent that they seldom attend services, and six percent said that they never attend services.
The survey also noted that 56 percent of Catholics say that religion is "very important" in their life and that 34 percent say it is "somewhat important."
The demographic portrait shows that Hispanics comprise 29 percent of the Catholic population, Asians and blacks, each 2 percent of the population, and whites, 65 percent.
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More information on the survey is at http://religions.pewforum.org/. |
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In the concluding talk at the National Summit, "Emerging Models of Pastoral Leadership," Robert Schreiter, CPPS, noted the growing percentages of U.S. Catholics from Latin America and Asia. In his talk, "Pastoral Leadership: Moving into the Future," Schreiter said, "Dealing with a culturally diverse Church remains perhaps the single greatest challenge that is before the Catholic Church in this country today."
Recommendations and addresses from the April summit may be found at www.EmergingModels.org. |
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Mary Prete and Steve Warner are recipients of the National Association of Pastoral Musicians' awards for Pastoral Musician of the Year.
Prete is the vice president for parish services for World Library Publications. In her position, she listens to and addresses needs of musicians from across the United States.
For 28 years, Warner has directed the 60-member Notre Dame Folk Choir. He also has composed such hymns as "Set Your heart on the higher Gifts" and "All Will Be Well."
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The Francis Cardinal George Professor of Faith and Culture has been established at Mundelein Seminary, Mundelein, Illinois. Rev. Robert E. Barron has been appointed the First George Professor.
The Francis Cardinal George Chair of Faith and Culture will address Christianity's place in public life and cultural consciousness.
Barron, the author of eight books and the chairman of the Department of Systematic Theology at Mundelein Seminary, will begin the position July 1.
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Sr. Joyce Zimmerman, the director of the Institute for Liturgical Ministry, received the Michael Mathis Award June 18 at the Notre Dame Center for Liturgy Conference.
NDCL Director David Fagerberg noted, "Sr. Joyce Zimmerman has been a tireless worker for the renewal of liturgical life. She has done so by hundreds of retreats and speaking seminars, in the classroom, as founder of the Institute for Liturgical Ministry, author of books, and editor of Liturgical Ministry. She has something to offer to the most rigorous scholarly question, and to the most practical pastoral concern. For her contribution to increasing our understanding of the Paschal Mystery, we are pleased to present Joyce the Mathis award."
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The traveling exhibit "Women and Spirit: Catholic Sisters in America" tells the story of the nearly 300 years that orders of religious women have shaped the country. More than 400 communities of sisters have loaned artifacts for the exhibit. The exhibit will tell the stories of the women who established schools and hospitals and worked for social justice in varied ways. Among the artifacts will be a letter from President Thomas Jefferson to Sister Therese de St. Xavier Farjon Superior and the diary of a Carmelite sister who crossed the Atlantic Ocean in 1790.
The exhibit, sponsored by the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, is available for bookings from Spring 2009 through Spring 2012.
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More information is available at www.WomenAndSpirit.org. |
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| Boston College offers non-credit online courses for spiritual renewal and ongoing faith formation. Catechists, parish study groups, liturgy committees, and parents can find courses that suit their needs. Among the offerings are: "Encountering Mark, Matthew, and Luke: The Synoptic Gospels," "Women Envisioning the Church," and "What Makes Us Catholic."
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For more information on the Church in the 21st Century Online, visit http://www.bc.edu/sites/c21online/. |
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Catholic Theological Union is planning to honored the University of Notre Dame's Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies with the "Blessed Are the Peacemakers Award" on April 29.
The Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies researches the religious and ethnic dimensions of conflict and peacebuilding. Its master of arts program educates students with theoretical and practical skills for diverse careers in peacebuilding.
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The director of the Institute for Church Life's Center for Catechetical Initiatives at the University of Notre Dame received the 2008 Catechetical Award from the National Conference for Catechetical Leadership during the meeting April 8 in Houston.
Gerard F. Baumbach was awarded for "his work and the ongoing vision and contributions of the Center for Catechetical Initiatives."
Baumbach has been the director of CCI since it was established in 2003. He is also a concurrent professor of theology at Notre Dame and the author of Experiencing Mystagogy: The Sacred Pause of Easter and Spirituality for Lent and Easter: A Guide for Bridging the Mysteries. |
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Catholic Ministry Formation Enrollments: Statistical Overview for 2007-2008 shows the number of foreign-born seminarians increasing. The report, issued by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University, notes that 27 percent (832) of the seminarians in theologates are from countries other than the United States. In 2005 - 2006, 23 percent of the seminarians were from outside of the United States. Most of these seminarians (64 percent) are preparing to be ordained for a diocese in the United States. The others are studying for a U.S.-based religious order (22 percent), an order based outside the United States (6 percent), or a diocese outside of the United States.
Priestly formation was only one component of the study. It also provided research on diaconate formation programs and lay ecclesial formation programs in dioceses across the United States.
The study noted that 81 percent of the diaconate candidates are in their forties and fifties and that 96 percent are married. Most of the candidates are white (77 percent), with Hispanic/Latinos comprising the next largest group (16 percent), and African-Americans and Asians each comprising 3 percent of the total. The last 1 percent includes Native Americans, multi-racial, and other ethnicities.
Lay ecclesial ministry program participants are most likely to be in their forties or fifties (59 percent), women (66 percent), and white (64 percent). Hispanic/Latinos comprise 28 percent of those in lay ecclesial ministry programs, African-Americans, 3 percent, and Asians, 2 percent.
As lay ecclesial formation programs have grown, the Internet is being utilized to reach students. A number of programs offer courses online and a few offer the opportunity to complete certificates or degrees online.
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This study is available at http://cara.georgetown.edu/Overview0708.pdf |
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The survey Sacraments Today: Belief and Practice among U.S. Catholics noted that Mass attendance is highest among "Catholics who are older, female, married to another Catholic, have a college degree or more, and who attended Catholic educational institutions—especially a Catholic college or university."
The Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University conducted the survey of U.S. adult Catholics for the Department of Communications of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Catholics surveyed who attend Mass at least monthly (but not weekly) attributed missing Mass to a busy schedule, family responsibilities, and health problems.
Of those attending Mass weekly, 41 percent said that they always attend Mass on a holy day of obligation.
About 80 percent of those attending Mass weekly receive Communion that often. Of those who attend Mass at least monthly but less than weekly, 66 percent said that they receive Communion with that frequency, and 31 percent of those who attend Mass a few times a year, receive Communion then.
Respondents rarely participate in the sacrament of Reconciliation. About a quarter of the survey participants said that they take part in the sacrament at least once a year. Only 2 percent of the respondents frequent the sacrament more often than monthly, and 30 percent go to the sacrament less than annually. Forty-five percent of respondents never participate in the sacrament.
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This report can be found at http://cara.georgetown.edu/sacraments.html |
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| The National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry offers two training programs to form adult leaders. The programs are "Multi-Parish Youth Ministry: Clustering, Collaborating, Changing" and "Weaving Together Youth Ministry in Culturally Diverse Parishes." |
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For information: www.nfcym.org |
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| The youth ministry resource manual, Our God, the Great I Am, is available through the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry. The sessions are designed to help leaders address the ways in which God is encountered in scripture, the sacraments, in service, family and friends, and the discernment of gifts. |
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The newly formed School of Theology and Ministry at Boston College will begin holding classes on BC's Brighton Campus in the fall of 2008. The school will include Boston College's Institute of Religious Education and Pastoral Ministry, the online programs of Boston College's Church in the 21st Century Program, and the Weston Jesuit School of Theology.
Richard J. Clifford, SJ, has been named the dean of the school. Clifford is the acting president of the Weston Jesuit School of Theology and professor of Old Testament. Weston Jesuit School of Theology has re-affiliated with Boston College after 33 years. |
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For information: www.bc.edu/schools/stm/ |
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| A doctorate in peace studies is being offered at the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame. The degree is offered in partnership with Notre Dame's departments of history, political science, psychology, and sociology.
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For information: http://kroc.nd.edu/programs/phd/index.shtml |
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The Satellite Theological Education Program (STEP) at the University of Notre Dame provides a variety of adult faith formation programs over the Internet for pastoral ministers and others. Courses cover Catholic doctrine, Christian life, Church history, liturgy, and scripture.
STEP is able to create courses to fulfill specific needs, such as youth ministry training and catechist certification. These courses can be delivered to a specific group within a diocese. |
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For information: step.nd.edu |
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| Chicago Theological Union is offering a master of arts in interreligious dialogue. The program, which focuses on Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, is designed to provide theological and practical preparation in interreligious dialogue. |
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| Loyola University of Chicago's Institute of Pastoral Studies now offers online courses. All or part of the 36-hour master's degree program in pastoral studies may be taken online. |
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For information: www.LUC.edu.IPS |
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The Catholic Ministry Formation Directory 2007 lists the ministry formation programs the Catholic Church sponsors in the United States and provides an analysis of the participants in those programs.
The Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University offers the directory. |
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For information or to order: http://cara.georgetown.edu/pubs/MFDfront.html |
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| Courses begin this fall at the St. Clare Center for Lay Ministry Formation at Cardinal Stritch University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The center will provide certificate and degree programs in lay ministry. |
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| The Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies has been redesigned at Washington Theological Union. Concentrations are offered in campus ministry, catechesis, leadership in the Christian community, liturgical ministry, marriage and family, pastoral care of the elderly, social justice ministry, and youth ministry. |
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For information: www.wtu.edu |
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Rev. J. Michael Joncas was honored with the Jubilate Deo award and Marty Haugen with the 2007 Pastoral Musician of the Year award at the National Pastoral Musicians Conference in July.
The Jubilate Deo award recognized Joncas' contributions in the worship life of Catholics. Joncas is known as a music director, pastor, scholar, teacher, and writer. He is an associate professor in the departments of Catholic studies and theology at the University of St. Thomas, Minneapolis.
The Mass of Creation, composed by Haugen, is the most widely used setting in the United States. He has composed more than 250 published works.
Also honored at the NPM Convention in Indianapolis were Bennett Porchiran, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, as the Director of Music Ministries Division Member of the Year and Barbara Varian Barrett, San Mateo, California, as the Music Educator of the Year. The Lansing, Michigan, chapter was honored as the Chapter of the Year. GIA Publications received the NPM Music Music Industry Award.
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| The Maryland Catholic Bishops have issued a pastoral letter to help Catholics with end-of-life decisions. “Comfort and Consolation: Care of the Sick and Dying” offers moral guidance on questions of medical care and treatment, nutrition and hydration, pain-relieving medication, and imminent death from terminal illness. |
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For information: www.MDCathCon.org/Care.htm |
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| A $2 million donation to St. Paul Seminary, St. Paul, Minnesota, will endow a chair in homiletics. The chair will honor St. Paul-Minneapolis Archbishop Harry J. Flynn. |
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The Jubilee Year to St. Paul will be marked with liturgical, cultural, and ecumenical events, Pope Benedict XVI has announced. The Pauline Year has been set for June 28, 2008, to June 29, 2009. It will celebrate the bimillennium anniversary of the disciple's birth.
In his address, the Pope noted the ecumenical aspect of the Pauline Year. “The Apostle to the Gentiles, who was especially committed to taking the Good News to all peoples, left no stones unturned for unity and harmony among all Christians,” he said.
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Allan Figueroa Deck, S.J., has been named the first executive director of the Office for Cultural Diversity in the reorganized United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Deck is the president/executive director of the Loyola Institute for Spirituality, Orange, California. Deck will begin the position in January 2008.
The new office will focus on ministries to Hispanic Catholics, African-American Catholics, Asian and Pacific Island Catholics, Native American Catholics, and the Pastoral Care of Migrants, Refugees, and Travelers.
Deck was the first president of the National Catholic Council for Hispanic Ministry, was founder and first president of the Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians of the United States, and was the first diocesan director of Hispanic Ministry for the diocese of Orange.
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Resources for engaged and married couples can be found on the For Your Marriage Web site, www.foryourmarriage.org. The site, sponsored by the U.S. Catholic bishops, is part of the National Pastoral Initiative for Marriage.
Featured on the site are daily marriage tips, information on conflict resolution, communication, and financial concerns, and stories and advice from married couples. The U.S. bishops' Catholic Communication Campaign is funding the site.
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