Bishop James Hoffman of Toledo, Ohio, recently cancelled more than $1.38 million in delinquent debts owed by 24 parishes and institutions in his diocese. The parishes had incurred these obligations by not paying assessments—for example, for insurance coverage secured on their behalf by the dio

When I was about six years old, I went to my dad and asked him, “Where do babies come from?” He told me to take a look at the guppies in our fish tank. My mom says I stood transfixed in front of the fish tank for several hours each day for a week.Seven years later I tried asking my dad t

The story is told of the Irish woman, 40 years married and the mother of seven, who left church after hearing a sermon from a young priest on marriage and motherhood and remarked, "Sure and I wish I knew as little about it as he does." Having spent the last 17 years working on Bible transl

This generation has witnessed many proposals for school choice, but only a few have taken root in law and practice. What do states such as Wisconsin and Ohio understand that remains opaque to their sisters? Though the 10-year-old Milwaukee program is effective and popular, its vital insight has so f

My wife asked me the other day what I considered the time in my life when I felt most spiritually rich. She knew the answer, because I’ve talked about it many times: senior year in high school. But she wanted to deepen an ongoing discussion we’ve been having about the lackluster state of

The data in the Rev. Andrew Greeley’s paper, "Rating the Clergy" (Am., 5/7), came as no surprise to many of us. His proposed solution, however, did give me pause. In paraphrase, Father Greeley makes four suggestions for improving the situation: 1. Seminaries should realize their

Recently I received a flyer in the mail inviting me to a clergy workshop that promised to help me "cope creatively." It’s being conducted by a friend of mine, a priest of faultless intentions, and will be given by a presenter known nationally as an expert on what the brochure calls &

Visiting Cemeteries might seem an odd way to spend a vacation. As an obsessive, lifelong English major, however, I have an interest in the final resting places of those who made notable contributions to literature. During a week’s respite in the Boston area, I accordingly spent several hours a

Continuing Archival ControversyA group of Catholic and Jewish scholars established to study World War II archival material already published by the Vatican has suspended its work. In a letter dated July 20, the scholars said that in order to continue working together they would need "access in

When I began to think about psychiatry as a medical specialty in 1963, I was vaguely aware of a tension between the church and psychiatry. Bishop Fulton J. Sheen suggested on his weekly television show that Catholics would not need a psychiatrist if they made a good confession. G. K. Chesterton had