Pope Francis has criticized clerics who are “far from the people.” One solution, writes Stacey Noem of the University of Notre Dame, is to better integrate candidates for the priesthood with lay students.

We love our movies about wiseguys. But what happens when you live and work down the street from them?

What makes 'Mass Exodus' a must-read is careful attention to the qualitative analysis related to disaffiliation from the church.

The document, titled "Open Wide Our Hearts: The Enduring Call to Love—A Pastoral Letter Against Racism," sold out its first 2,000 copies eight months after it was printed and was recently sent out for a second printing.

U.S. bishops: “The threat of abortion remains our preeminent priority because it directly attacks life itself.... At the same time, we cannot dismiss or ignore other serious threats to human life and dignity such as racism, the environmental crisis, poverty and the death penalty.”

Archbishop Gomez leads the largest U.S. diocese, Los Angeles, home to more than four million Catholics, and has been a vocal proponent of rights for immigrants.