Jeanie Hannaman

By Fr. Nnamdi Moneme, OMV, Integrated Catholic Life - Holy Mother Church exhorts us to rejoice on Laetare Sunday of the Lenten Season with these words, “Rejoice, Jerusalem, and all who love her. Be joyful, all who were in mourning; exult and be satisfied at her consoling breasts.”(Is 66:10-11)... But how can we pause to rejoice when we are recalling our many sins, performing our Lenten penances for these sins, reflecting on the suffering of Christ for our sins, and striving to unite our sufferings with His suffering? Doesn’t it seem out of place to rejoice in such a setting?

By Christopher D. Raymond, Crisis Magazine - The release of the latest wave of the Religious Landscape Study by the Pew Research Center shows that the decades-long decline in practice, belief, and belonging continues. For every one convert the Church has gained, another eight (at least) have left, while fewer of those who remain in the fold meet subpar definitions of what it means to be a “practicing Catholic.” These numbers give added urgency to the efforts to (1) understand how this happened so that (2) steps can be taken to correct it.