Parish roundup: New citizens; Catholics who stay, Catholics who leave

New citizens write their names on hearts to be displayed on the outside of St. Rita of Cascia Church in Bedford Park, Illinois, during a Pastoral Migratoria program March 30. (CNS/Chicago Catholic/Karen Callaway)

New citizens write their names on hearts to be displayed on the outside of St. Rita of Cascia Church in Bedford Park, Illinois, during a Pastoral Migratoria program March 30. Pastoral Migratoria is a parish-based, immigrant-to-immigrant ministry that began in the Chicago Archdiocese in 2009 and it includes a citizenship program. (CNS/Chicago Catholic/Karen Callaway)

by Peter Feuerherd

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A Chicago Archdiocese parish accompanies immigrants on the road to citizenship.

In the Pittsburgh Diocese, a massive parish consolidation is taking place. Is it a case of putting a Band-Aid on a critical wound?

Why do Catholic women stay? A writer looks to science. USA Today goes across the country to examine why Catholics stay, and why others are leaving.

A vibrant Catholic center at Binghamton University in New York state navigates difficult times as students defend their Catholic identity from their questioning peers.

A warning about fake priest scammers, this time from the Miami Archdiocese.

Data indicates that more Catholics — particularly the young, those who call themselves Democrats, and Latinos — no longer identify with the church.

A miscommunication causes canceling a Mass at a Minnesota church. Some see it as providential as the roof caves in from the weight of snow.

Catholics in Vermont come together in a synod where they emphasize the need for evangelization and communication.

Where do all those former Catholics go? In the Philadelphia area, some are landing in what are called independent congregations that mimic the Catholic Church but are outside its bounds. They range from Latin-language traditionalists to those who accept women as priests.

[Peter Feuerherd is a correspondent for NCR's Field Hospital series on parish life and is a professor of journalism at St. John's University, New York.]

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