Mark Piper, a Packers fan in an unholy land, works in the nonprofit sector. He resides in Chicago with his family and holds a master's in public policy from DePaul University and a bachelor's from St. Xavier University; he is an alumus of Amate House, an AmeriCorps-approved year of service organization sponsored by the Chicago Archdiocese.
He writes for NCR's Young Voices blog.
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Mark Piper
Column
Let the church die, so that the church might live
Young Voices: Catholic ritual and liturgies counter our culture's death-denial. But what of a church that refuses to look upon itself and denies that it is in its own season of death?
Column
Ikea insight for Catholics: When home doesn't feel like home
Young Voices: Are the five core needs identified by Ikea to engender the feeling of home similar to the core needs of a Catholic to feel at home in a parish?
Column
Nunzio Sulprizio, a messenger that the church and world need right now
It is fitting that Pope Francis will canonize Nunzio Sulprizio during the Synod on Youth. Even in his brief life, he was a credible witness to suffering, accompaniment and the joy of the Gospel.
Column
Associate movement sees future rich with hope
Young Voices: Lay associates are a dynamic part of the church today. My experience with Mercy associates, within the Institute of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, has provided spiritual sustenance that I've not gotten in any parish setting over the past decade.