The Field Hospital is NCR's reporting on parish life in the United States.
"I see clearly that the thing the church needs most today is the ability to heal the wounds and to warm the hearts of the faithful. It needs nearness, proximity. I see the church as a field hospital after battle.
"It is useless to ask a seriously wounded person if he has high cholesterol and about the level of his blood sugars. You have to heal his wounds. Then we can talk about everything else." - Pope Francis
"The image of the church as a field hospital points to the reality that the church is never remote from human experience, never self-referential if it is to be faithful to its mission. Rather the church must always be enmeshed in the real lives and sufferings and challenges and joys of the people of God and the whole of humanity." - San Diego Bishop Robert McElroy
The Field Hospital: Known as a sanctuary congregation in the 1980s, St. William Church committed in October "to support the leadership of immigrant-led groups who work diligently to establish justice for all."
Canon law about priestly status was cited for the removal of former priest Kevin McGloin and inactive priest John Konicek as members of the staff of St. Patrick Catholic Community in Scottsdale, Arizona.
The Field Hospital: Pastor of two parishes in the Steubenville Diocese, Fr. David Cornett has a gift for languages and the initiative to do what he can to bring the Gospel message to more people, in this case, members of the deaf community.
The Field Hospital: Over two months, about 250 young Catholics took part in the Young Adult Synod in San Diego, and on Nov. 9, about 150 participants gathered to make their proposals at the final synod session.
The Field Hospital: Our Lady of Guadalupe Circle is a national coalition of indigenous people, Catholic clergy, women religious and lay people dedicated to healing the relationship between the Catholic Church and Canada's First Nations.
The Field Hospital: For months, workers at a Kentucky coal mine have been struggling financially after their company took its employees paychecks to pay its own bills. A Catholic Church in Eastern Kentucky has been a source of support throughout the crisis.
The Field Hospital: "We have families — we have a lot of families," Kathleen Domingo, the Los Angeles Archdiocese's senior director of the Office of Life, Justice and Peace said. "And when we start asking families, 'Would you consider fostering,' we have been overwhelmed by the generosity."
The Field Hospital: For decades, the Church of St. Francis Xavier has intentionally wanted everyone to feel welcome — and it shows in the pews. "People will go out of their way to come here for the liturgy, for the community, for preaching that's not afraid to engage the issues at hand," says its new Jesuit pastor.
In early July, the mining company Blackjewel declared bankruptcy, and soon afterward, some 300 mining employees discovered they no longer had jobs — in the worst possible way: Their bank accounts were empty, because the company's paychecks were no good.
During the summer of 2019, the bishop of El Paso, Texas, decided his diocese would open a fund to help a growing number of immigrants piling into shelters on the other side of the U.S. border in the sister city of Ciudad Juarez in Mexico.
The Field Hospital: Based in Glenside, Pennsylvania, the Calix Society "started over an alcoholic priest back in 1947." Five concerned laymen, all from the Minneapolis area, petitioned to have a 5 a.m. daily Mass celebrated to pray for an addicted priest's recovery.
The Field Hospital: St. Nicholas parishioners have an excellent track record when it comes to doing the work of charity. But we've uncovered several reasons why social justice hasn't been on our radar screen.
The Field Hospital: When Bishop Lucius Hre Kung of Hakha, Myanmar, visited St. Barnabas Parish in Indianapolis two years ago, a mere six families comprised the parish's Hakha Chin Catholic refugee community.
The Field Hospital: San Francisco parishes go to the U.S.-Mexico border; a young person raises money for water pumps and toilets in countries that need them; Honolulu parish gets ready to share the story of two saints who helped Hansen's disease patients
The Field Hospital: A church open to LGBT people to follow; taking an abuser's name off a parish hall; the fallout of the immigration raids in Mississippi and the pastor who is helping affected families; Latinos v. Democrats on party's abortion rights platform
The Field Hospital: As the sound of drums, tambourines and Swahili hymns reverberated through St. Andrew's Church, Elizabeth Muturi and fellow parishioners swayed their arms and hips, dancing down the aisle with the Book of Gospels raised behind them.
The Field Hospital: Illinois parish aids a summer learning program for children of migrant laborers; ministry in the Dominican Republic; groundbreaking planned for Oklahoma City shrine.
The Field Hospital: "Esperanza" is Spanish for "hope" and Ursuline Sr. Mary Eileen Boyle, 70, who founded the program, has helped inspire hope in the lives of hundreds of women and men who learned in-demand skills and found employment in the sewing industry and beyond.
The Field Hospital: Catholic parishes help migrant families after large-scale ICE raids in Mississippi; changes by new pastor from Africa divide a parish; Chattanooga parish remembers when it wasn’t easy being black or Catholic in the South.
The Field Hospital: San Francisco volunteers traveled to El Paso in July to serve refugees at Annunciation House. That team was the first, and the project plans more, with a roster drawn in by bulletin announcements.
The Field Hospital: Catholic Extension is helping families broken by immigration raids; seafarers have special needs; witness to a marriage; KOC family of the year
Jesuit Fr. Jack Podsiadlo is retiring after decades of groundbreaking work in Latino ministry, first at New York's Nativity Mission Center and, more recently, at the Latino Leadership Institute in Richmond, Virginia.
The Field Hospital: Efforts to evangelize include Alpha in British Columbia and the Mass Mob in Buffalo; parishes face pressing financial needs in Chicago; tackling poverty in Portland.
The Field Hospital: A group of dedicated volunteers is looking to raise a grand total of $20 million for a complete restoration of Assumption Church in Ontario, the sister parish of Ste. Anne de Detroit.
The Field Hospital: Catholics in careers that orbit space and science share spirituality and ideas for the moon; Knights of Columbus collect 3,000 stuffed animals; parish theft in California.
The state's drug fatality rate was nearly three times higher than the national average. Through Catholic Charities, the church in West Virginia is helping addicts and families to endure, escape and avoid the abuse cycle.
The Field Hospital: Twin parishes team up across US-Canada border to raise funds for church restoration; A New Jersey diocesan delegation visits the border in Texas. The famous Crystal Cathedral is now the Christ Cathedral.
The Field Hospital: The Peacemakers group at St. Joan of Arc Parish has been dedicated to promoting nonviolence and speaking out against war for more than three decades.
The Field Hospital: Funeral Mass for 9/11 first responder; tackling addiction in West Virginia and Pittsburgh; Latino foster parents sought in LA; civil penalties target sanctuary sites.
The Field Hospital: St. William's success shows that lay leadership may be the best answer to the priest shortage. We are proof that the spirit of Vatican II is still alive and well.
The Field Hospital: Emerging ethnic patterns; the art of chant; Buffalo's lay Catholics respond to sex abuse crisis; the Matthew 25 award goes to Maine
Trump's policies have spread fear among immigrant populations in the U.S., but Catholic organizations have responded with renewed efforts to help those groups, a survey says.
The Field Hospital: George Elliot's screenplay confronts trafficking victims "Lost in the Shadows"; creating burial clothes for infants; parishes throughout Missouri reach out to the hungry and the flood-ravaged; an anonymous letter about hidden depression.
The Field Hospital: For the past 25 years, the Institute for Priestly Formation has helped thousands of priests and seminarians from around the United States to experience God's love and pass it on to their flocks.
The Field Hospital: Utah parish supports suicide prevention; arson in Florida; debate in New York as four parishes are merging; Catholic Charities aids flood-affected in Mid-Missouri
The Field Hospital: Teams of San Francisco Bay Area volunteers are gearing up to head to El Paso, Texas, to bring tangible support to persons caught in the migration chaos at the Mexico-U.S. border.
The Field Hospital: Nevada City-based Sierra Roots started eight years ago with one women handing out sandwiches. Today it is working to transform the lives of the homeless through compassion, care and a proposed community village.
The Field Hospital: Historic St. Augustine Church welcomes Archbishop Gregory to D.C.; retired NBA referee becomes a deacon; Indiana parishioner, a WW2 veteran, buried on D-Day anniversary.
The Field Hospital: At St. Malachy in the city and at suburban St. Thomas of Villanova, parishioners are pulling together to talk about sex abuse and the cover-up and to push for reform.
The Field Hospital: Catholic parishes are being asked to break down borders; Colorado ski towns transform with the seasons; exponential growth in eastern Tennessee
The Field Hospital: The U.S. Treasury has walked back on a redesign plan, but Hope Central Church moves ahead, stamping all $20 bills from its offering plates with Tubman's face — a "worthy replacement," says the pastor.
The Field Hospital: Program employs homeless to grow food; fasting from beverages except water during Lent; ministry ensures inclusion of disabled; parishioner spends 27 years volunteering at prison
The Field Hospital: Capuchin Franciscan Fr. Anthony Kote-Witah ministers to people who have gone through hard times — in a city that has seen its share of better days. But as Kote-Witah found hope through desolation, he tries to find that same light of Christ's love in the lives of others.
The Field Hospital: Susan Bigelow Reynolds offers insight on changing the church; a police raid on three diocesan sites in Dallas shakes Catholics; a look at modern godparents; and more
The Field Hospital: In his own way, William "Paco" Pryor never considered himself homeless during the more than 20 years that he lived behind SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral in Indianapolis.
The Field Hospital: Leaving the parish confines to help; STEM School Highlands Ranch in Colorado gets support after shooting; Carpenter's Shelter in Alexandria; models of refugee and immigrant outreach; the church that won't burn
The Field Hospital: Scammers have taken aim at parishioners in the Diocese of Jackson, Mississippi. Most parishes impacted sent emails and posted warnings about the scams to social media, but it is hard to tell how many people may have responded before the warnings went out.
The Field Hospital: Donors to Catholic Charities don't want funds to go to Buffalo Diocese; evangelicals incorporate Catholic prayer styles; Catholic membership down in Michigan.
The Field Hospital: Closed in 2008, Buffalo's St. Gerard Church gives the new Mary Our Queen Church in Peachtree Corners, Georgia, part of its history in art and artifacts.
The Field Hospital: Church across street from campus shooting holds prayer service; award honors priest co-founder of Catholic hospice facility for HIV-AIDS patients in 1985; Michigan parish fixes a bicycle for a homeless guest.
At first, parishioners welcomed the Institute of Christ the King, hoping that its presence would increase attendance and assure the parish's survival. But the group's Latin Mass and radical traditionalism are challenging the community's core Vatican II values.
The Field Hospital: Parish accompanies those seeking U.S. citizenship; Pittsburgh consolidates parishes; Mass cancellation called providential after roof collapse; fake priest scammers.
The Field Hospital: The agreement between the Movement to Restore Trust and Bishop Richard Malone is the latest development in the crisis that has enveloped the Buffalo Diocese.
The Field Hospital: Vancouver parish turned his life around; foot care in Portland, Oregon; reducing road rage in church parking lots; scammers in Mississippi getting gift cards for free; Fr. William Treacy will mark his 100th birthday during May 26 festivities at Camp Korey in Mt. Vernon, Washington
Darwin Josue Mejía Montoya could have been shot during protests in Nicaragua last year. He also could still be languishing in a detention center in Arizona, after escaping the violence.
The Field Hospital: Catholic bishops defend those fearing deportation; closed parishes become low-income housing; serving the poor in a gentrifying neighborhood.
After a ruling from the Vatican's Congregation for Clergy, Bishop Frank Dewane of the diocese of Venice, Florida, has imposed penalties on Fr. Christopher Senk. But members of the priest's Sanibel Island parish say he is being maligned.
The Field Hospital: "Walking and Witnessing for Immigrant Families" planned in Seattle; Knights of Columbus lend a hand in Arkansas and Florida; faith communities respond to addiction.
The Field Hospital: Former convict thanks parishioners for prison ministry; the questions of parish consolidations; Irish seminarians expected to spend more time in parishes.
The Field Hospital: Fr. Kevin Finnegan said he didn't know what to expect when he arrived at St. Peter in Mendota. He was responding to an invitation Archbishop Bernard Hebda had extended to priests of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis: to join him for an evening to reflect on the clergy sexual abuse crisis.
The Field Hospital: Volunteers provide free tax return assistance to people in the Diocese of Albany; Atlanta parishes raise awareness of dangers of pornography; flooding traps Nebraska parishioners; and more parish news.
St. André Bessette Catholic Church staff say, "We are not here to fix anyone. We're here to be compassionate." The parish offers something to the area's homeless nearly everyday.
The Field Hospital: Historic black church in Philadelphia to close; New Orleans Archdiocese fights porn epidemic; parish copes with priests' deaths; Christians persecuted around the world.
The Field Hospital: Bishop Sullivan Center's newly renamed, remodeled and reorganized community kitchen seeks to ensure its free meals are healthy, delicious and served restaurant-style.
The Field Hospital: An overview of black clergy in the U.S. church; animal-assisted therapy in health care; Creighton University, Catholic Climate Covenant pair up for conferences on environmental encyclical; Alabama parishes reach out to tornado victims
Perspective: Andrew Sullivan's visit to the Paulist Center in Boston had a bracing message aimed at jolting those of us in the pews into a deeper understanding of an important dimension of our faith.
Parish Roundup: Archdiocese launches mental health ministry; Portland Catholics combat homelessness; while some Catholics get to vote on parish mergers, another merger is complicated by history of racial segregation; the pivotal role of millennial Latino Catholics in the church's future.
The Field Hospital: Fr. Doug Marcotte believes "there's no better way to change a community than one small act of kindness at a time." So the pastor embraced a plan from one of the parishioners to help individuals and families in the community when they don't have enough food for their next meal.
The Field Hospital: Parish hosts prom-night experience for people with special needs; young Canadian missionaries visit vast northern archdiocese; Lutherans start "brewery church."
The Field Hospital: Envision a parish where people are inspired to transform the world, experience a preferential option for the poor and hold church far away from their parish buildings.
The Field Hospital: New Jersey's list of abusers gets detailed by media; one county in California seemed to end up with the abusing priests; got a rural ministry grant?
The Field Hospital: By launching a "Year of Awakening," the Diocese of Metuchen, New Jersey, said it aims to renew and awaken the faith" in each and every heart" and begin a new "great wave of evangelization" in all of the four-county diocese's parishes and institutions.
The Field Hospital: Louisville meeting on abuse crisis to complement the bishops' in Rome; projects help formerly incarcerated; guidance on becoming a sanctuary church for immigrants.
The Field Hospital: Over a dozen clergy sexual abuse survivors are in regular contact with the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis' Office of Ministerial Standards and Safe Environment. They provide advice for the archdiocese's outreach to other survivors.
The Field Hospital: Play about Fr. Tolton inspires young Catholics; Portland's archbishop wants chanted Masses; scammers target Omaha Catholics; should little kids be at Mass?
The Field Hospital: Parishes need to use serial-coded bags and a three-person counting system to curtail theft, advises Michael Ryan. Others say such controls are already in place.
The Field Hospital: Parish mourns domestic violence victims; archbishop condemns pro-choice Catholics communities; advice for church worker burnout; Wisconsin Catholics celebrate Mass of thanksgiving for Jayme Closs's safe return.
The Field Hospital: Church officials warn against hugging and handholding at Mass; parishioners welcome kidnapped girl's return; bishops talk to Catholics about abuse crisis.
For nearly 30 years, the Rev. Robert Schuller's Crystal Cathedral was not only a religious landmark, but an architectural wonder and an embodiment of flush times in Southern California's Orange County. Now Crystal Cathedral is almost ready to open as a church again — this time as Christ Cathedral, seat of the Diocese of Orange.
The Field Hospital: Indianapolis parishioner helps visually impaired Catholics; Camino walk focuses young man on new path; Knight of Columbus near ends of cross-country walk for life and the unborn
For more than 60 years, an organization with Franciscan values has been supporting San Francisco's infamous Tenderloin neighborhood and its vulnerable people, providing services and creating a cleaner, safer community without using law enforcement.
The Field Hospital:Chicago Catholic identity shift; increasing number of Latino Catholics doesn't always mean an end to parish woes; former church is a hospice now; D.C. under church influence; the naming of annual fundraisers matters
The Field Hospital: The Camp Fire devastated Paradise, California, destroying the homes of over half of the parishioners of St. Thomas More Church. Nearby parishes have rallied to help the survivors.
The Field Hospital: 22-year-old founds school for the deaf in Uganda; Portland Vietnamese parish rallies after attack; inmates to construct World Youth Day confessionals.
The Field Hospital: "How Can We Pray?" was written by Zachary Stachowski, director of music ministry at St. Ignatius of Loyola in Ijamsville, moved by the anger he felt immediately after the Pennsylvania grand jury report on clergy sexual abuse was released in mid-August.
The Field Hospital: Fr. Frank Uter sends cards to 4,100 families. He has carried out this tradition for decades, across the Diocese of Baton Rouge at the various church parishes where he has served.
The Field Hospital: Detroit Archdiocese criticized for what is perceived as a dodge on sex abuse litigation; it also apologized for a priest's questionable homily for a person who died by suicide; Eleanor Sauers is one of a handful of parish life coordinators who run church administration while priests celebrate sacraments; the places Spanish-language Mass are held in Cincinnati are in bad shape
The Field Hospital: Xavier Society for the Blind explores technological advances to enhance religious education and other materials for vision-impaired Catholics.
Long time social justice activist Tom Karlin is profiled; 85-year-old tussles with trailer park over Guadalupe portrait; a "gang of four" 80-something Redemptorist priests are active as ever in ministry; a new school for teens suffering with addiction; two articles reveal the hidden hardships of refugee resettlement.
The Field Hospital: "Unleash the Gospel" is serving to help the faithful continue in what diocesan leaders called a journey of transformation and spiritual renewal centered on Jesus and the life-changing message of the Gospel.
The Field Hospital: The Sacramento Diocese and Knights of Columbus aid fire recovery; parish closings in Philadelphia and Chicago; consolation ministers support the grieving.
The Field Hospital: Friars and Sisters of the Poor Jesus hope that food and bottled water will be the first step in lifting the city's growing homeless population out of poverty.
The Field Hospital: Florida parishes help after hurricane; 22-year-old parishioner advises listening to young adults; Indianapolis food pantry serves thousands; requiem Mass for the homeless.
"Measuring and Ranking Diocesan Online Financial Transparency" charted 177 dioceses across the United States, and discovered that most were not open about their financial statements.
The Field Hospital: When Dónal Noonan began working as a director of music ministries at Atlanta's Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, he was disturbed by the monotony of the lives of those living on the city's streets. So he created a choir for them.
The Field Hospital: Fr. Jim Sichko's mother was a native of Italy who made homemade tomato sauce. In honor of her memory, Sichko decided to bottle her secret sauce recipe and donate the proceeds.
The Field Hospital: Pittsburgh Catholics offer symbolic, financial support to their neighbors at Tree of Life Synagogue; pastor resigns as diocese investigates 'financial irregularities'; and more
A new, local ID system in Baltimore is "focused on helping residents to feel comfortable interacting with the Baltimore City Police Department," according to organizers, who announced the program Oct. 10, to start in Sacred Heart of Jesus-Sagrado Corazón de Jesús parish.
The Field Hospital: Catholics in Pittsburgh show up at shul; recording moms reading to their children from far away; what Knights of Columbus councils do on local levels; 75 nun dolls brighten up Archdiocese of Atlanta's Office of Archives and Records
The Field Hospital: The Catholic Deaf Community of the Archdiocese of Portland, Oregon, formed 60 years ago and recently energized with Masses in sign language each Sunday, a website, social media and a youth group.
The Field Hospital: Hurricane Michael's Oct. 10 landfall brought near Category-5 strength winds when it came ashore at Mexico Beach, near Panama City on the Florida Gulf Coast. Two weeks after the storm came ashore, Michael's death toll has risen to 29 in Florida alone.
The Field Hospital: Priest directs house for youth awaiting asylum adjudication; Cor Unum Meal Center serves over two million meals; Kalamazoo Diocese gives facts on credibly accused priest
The Field Hospital: An anonymous supporter of church reform went the whole Martin Luther, pinning 21 theses on the door of St. Peter Cathedral in Erie, Pennsylvania, Sept. 13., calling for, among other things, more lay involvement.
The Field Hospital: Priests, staff and parishioners at this church in San Dimas, California, create community as they meet needs, asking each year, "What's missing?"
The Field Hospital: Portland Catholics explore ways to help the homeless; questioning cry rooms; parish copes with reconfiguration, sex abuse fallout; comeback for old-time devotions.
The Field Hospital: Grassroots reactions to the church crises of authority and sex abuse have taken place at cathedrals, parishes, universities, public squares and pubs.
The Field Hospital: "There are benefits to being involved in a church community," says the lead researcher, who posits an explanation: Greater social connection leads to better health.
The Field Hospital: Chicago pastor removed for burning a rainbow flag; Erie Diocese transfers property; New Zealand lay leaders seen as model for Ireland; importance of music at Mass.
After the first cathedral of the Syracuse Diocese was closed in 2010, it became an opportunity for a service organization to expand their programs serving people in need of food, employment assistance, help with utilities, mental health services and more.
The Field Hospital: Three young people with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals status are among finalists for Catholic Extension's 2018-19 Lumen Christi Award; Pastor reveals he was abused
The Field Hospital: At Notre Dame, Flourishing in Ministry researches job satisfaction among ministers of all Christian stripes and works with them to find an answer to work concerns.
A new Pew study shows Catholic faithful rapidly leaving the church; parishes host prayer services to deal with church scandals; Catholics organize to fight racism and skyrocketing rents.
The Field Hospital: Collaborating with Fundación Alalay, which works to keep kids off Bolivia's streets, a Brooklyn artist created the Arte Fogata project to help children explore the arts.
The Field Hospital: Getting inked for faith; sisters celebrate 10 years of hosting women out of prison; humanitarian work is 'heating up' in Sonoran Desert; priest with ties to Metuchen bishop emeritus removed from ministry; one place where churches are being built rather than closed is Portland, Oregon
The Field Hospital: The Center at Blessed Sacrament in Los Angeles, 'a space where people feel safe,' offers housing assistance, community and coffee to those in the area who are homeless or in need.
The Field Hospital: Across the U.S., Catholics gather to address the sex abuse crisis. Meanwhile, refugees welcomed in Philly; play celebrates Solanus Casey; parishioners want pastor reinstated.
The Field Hospital: In the aftermath of Vatican II, as laypeople were encouraged to embrace their baptismal call to service, some Detroit East Side parishes took a grass-roots approach to ministry.
The Field Hospital: Hundreds march to detention center to participate in an outdoor Mass; sister volunteers work in Kermit, West Virginia; Room In the Inn a model shelter program, its founder to be honored
The Field Hospital: Friendships have emerged and discussions have flourished among St. Benedict Cathedral Parish, First Presbyterian, Temple Adath B'Nai Israel and the Islamic Society.
The Field Hospital: As Phoenix grows, more priests are coming to help from Africa; people look at the "Benedict Option" for life; some parishioners are thinking of withholding their donations as protest during this latest sex abuse crisis; Ohio State researchers think the social aspect of church membership helps extend life
The Field Hospital: Eighteen volunteers from St. Francis Builds, a program based in St. Camillus Catholic Church in Silver Spring, Maryland, recently demonstrated its continued commitment in Latin America.
The Field Hospital: St. Francis Builds helps in Puerto Rico; eighth-graders fabricate prosthetic hands for potential use by underprivileged children; Masses in unique places.
The Field Hospital: When Steven Coleman resolved to become knowledgeable about climate change, he became depressed by the magnitude of the problem. But prayer helped him to see that he could make his greatest impact by talking to people in church about the crisis.
The Field Hospital: Closed Montreal churches transformed; reasons for denied Communion are disputed; Jeremiah and McCarrick; Blessed Stanley Rother's first feast day.
The Field Hospital: After the 2018 U.S. Special Olympics in Seattle, Catholics there aim to leverage that success for pastoral initiatives for those with developmental disabilities.
The Field Hospital: Bishops join in solidarity procession for migrants; Priest ministers Missouri streets on foot; deacon reflects on parenting transgender child; celebrating St. Kateri Tekakwitha
The Field Hospital: In an interview with the Irish bishops' magazine Intercom, Cardinal Kevin Farrell, head of the Vatican's Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, said "priests are not the best people to train others for marriage."
The Field Hospital: Catholic University of America to help train parish leaders in business; Brett Kavanaugh's active parish life promoted; Las Vegas parish comes under fire for pro-life ministry
The Field Hospital: Kathy Hendricks, an experienced parish minister who served parishioners in Littleton, Colorado, when the Columbine High School shooting took place in 1999, says parishes need to prepare for crises.
The Field Hospital: Nigerian pastor describes "Christian genocide"; St. Cloud Catholic Charities files suit against its diocese; Montana priest's op-ed warns of "sea of incivility."
The Field Hospital: Increasingly churchgoers are bypassing neighborhood parishes in favor of faith communities that deliver what they are seeking. And Catholic bishops are obliging the trend.
The Field Hospital: A checklist helps parishes discern whether they are welcoming of those with disabilities; Catholics in Fresno warned of phony funerals; a new documentary on the African-American Catholic experience
The Field Hospital: Nourish provides support for those caring for the permanently or temporarily disabled, rooted in a Catholic spirituality. It is a resource that, until recently, had been an unavailable comfort to many struggling to care for their loved ones.
The Thriving in Ministry Initiative seeks to enrich and deepen the lives of American Christians by providing financial support to new or existing programs that help clergy develop mentor relationships and traverse challenging transitional periods throughout their ministry.
The Field Hospital: Catholic Charities visits immigrant detention center, Catholics following court battle of deported mother of four, Scam artists target parishes; Grassroots awareness campaigns for those suffering from mental illness
The Field Hospital: The congregation at Our Lady of the Rosary in Detroit has always been small, but parishioners say that attendance at Sunday Mass is about a third of what it used to be. Some say the reason is that the parish is now an oratory and Fr. Daniel Jones pastor.
The Field Hospital: Baltimore Archdiocese reaches out to young adults with wedding change; Laudato Si' in Belleville parishes; a church survives in a Nebraska ghost town.
The Field Hospital: Some 36 percent of all American parishes are now designated as bicultural. Brett Hoover and Hosffman Ospino, two experts on multicultural ministry, agree: The church needs to get this right as it moves into the future.
The Field Hospital: Canadian couple volunteers at prison together; Catholic laughs raise money for homeless; first US-born Hmong-American priest; immigration talk at CLINIC gathering.
The Field Hospital: Pastoral Migratoria, a program that trains lay immigrant leaders to serve their fellow migrants, integrates Catholic social teaching with local realities and strives to promote the "new evangelization" through care for immigrants.
The Field Hospital: Breaking language barriers; men being ordained at new, higher rate; Hartford Archdiocese members want Fr. Thomas Conway of the USS Indianapolis to be made a saint; a parish nurse in East Texas is a lifeline
Rita Chairez, 57, knows the hearts and minds of the incarcerated as well as anyone can. For six years she has worked with imprisoned people through the Los Angeles Archdiocese's Office of Restorative Justice and recently became program coordinator of a non-profit providing support for persons impacted by homicide.
The Field Hospital: Jesuit volunteers "ruined for life"; Fort Worth Diocese continues efforts to improve security in wake of Santa Fe High School shooting; Hawaiian parishioners help those forced to flee from lava
A trained social worker, Montfort Fr. Francis Pizzarelli has a long tenure as a celebrant in local parishes in Suffolk County, where there were 360 opioid overdoses in 2016, more than two and a half times the number in 2010. He has been ministering to people affected by addiction and other crises, through Hope House since 1980.
The Field Hospital: Diocese of Pittsburgh tries to reach "nones"; Diocese of San Diego responds to mental health issues; Oklahoma governor signs bill for church defense protections; Mass mobs in Detroit
With parish and diocesan encuentros wrapped up, diocesan delegates have moved on to the regional level of the V Encuentro — a four-year grassroots consultation with Hispanic Catholics throughout the United States. Representatives from 14 out of the 15 dioceses throughout Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Iowa gathered April 27-29 to talk about Hispanic Catholics in the heartland.
The Field Hospital: Ministering to the people behind the scenes of horseracing; Dubuque parishes bring Quran calligraphy to a mosque; "11th step" retreat in Indiana in July; midwives and doulas, two Catholic perspectives on childbirth; recognizing Hmong Catholics' needs in Wisconsin
The Field Hospital: Dolores Mission Church in the Boyle Heights community of Los Angeles is probably best known as the place where Fr. Gregory Boyle's Homeboy Industries started. The small Jesuit parish, however, has been doing more for the past 30 years than reaching out to people in gangs. The parish's unofficial motto is: "Just start."
Their purpose in going to court is a simple one: to be a witness. They are there to buck up immigrants who, in some cases, are completely alone in a foreign country that wants them out.
The Field Hospital: Parishes make efforts to be environmentally conscientious; Volunteers help clean up after Hurricane Maria; California parishes work with organization to help impoverished in Mexico
The Field Hospital: "People are still craving a community, a hub, a place to call home, a place to nest. That is still alive and well and that place can still be a church."
The Field Hospital: Iowa, Virginia dioceses create green networks; Buffalo bishop selling his residence as Burlington, Vermont, Diocese sells former cathedral; Pennsylvania pastor resigns amid allegations of adult relationships, financial irregularities
The Field Hospital: Gathering the way we did without a priest made me wonder about similar meals of remembrance in the early church. And what future gatherings might be like as the number of Catholic priests continues its insistent decline.
The Field Hospital: Religious leaders band together to address affordable housing; Pastoral agents in Salvadoran church visit those in need; Annual Lenten Operation Rice Bowl program helps families; Fatal bus accident kills young hockey players
The Field Hospital: Brooklyn's population of residents of Guatemalan origin has more than doubled since 2007 to nearly 11,000 people, according to the Census Bureau's American Community Survey.
The Field Hospital: Houston is a sprawling city, but Christian, Catholic and other private schools are keeping pace as it grows, expanding to accommodate enrollment demands. Also: fighting hunger; patrolling church grounds; awaiting an audit; parish renewal in a number of places at once; cutting senior home visits
The Field Hospital: Students write letters of support to women who placed children for adoption; Parishioners, clergy celebrate Mass with prison inmates; medical student fights against father's deportation
The Field Hospital: Latino Catholics keeping Ohio parishes alive; millionaire priest in Michigan; Buffalo sex abuse history; artistic and interfaith Stations in New York
The Field Hospital: These college students went to Death Valley to learn and practice contemplation. And when a sandstorm blew us away, this parish showed us what it means to be church.
The Field Hospital: Seattle archdiocese hosting annual Mass for persons with special needs; Affordable housing in crisis; Literacy program launches in Arkansas; One priest reaches out to inactive Catholics
The Field Hospital: Outreach to Latinos/Hispanics in the New York Archdiocese can trace back to the 1950s, and now, of the 2.8 million Catholics here, an estimated one third to one half of the people are of Latino background. The V Encuentro meeting Feb. 24 focused on continued evangelization.
The Field Hospital: First Filipino-born bishop to lead a diocese in U.S.; Knoxville, Tennessee opens multi-million dollar cathedral; Boston parishes collaborate on pastors, services; Cincinnati lawyer defends white supremacists; Locking doors during Mass
The Field Hospital: Change has been "looming for the past 50 years," Jesuit Fr. Allan Figueroa Deck says in an NCR interview. "And the vitality of the church is what's at stake."
The Field Hospital: Priest speaks from experience when it comes to alcoholism; Chicago's South Side has an advocate; Peter England writes for Bread for the World; now international, El Sembrador Ministries started at the parish level
The Field Hospital: Carolyn Winfrey Gillette writes hymns about gun violence. After the mass shooting in Parkland, Florida, Gillette shared her work on Facebook, and her message resonated with users.
The Field Hospital: A recent book on the Irish American Catholic experience; Friday fish fry tradition; Baltimore church celebrates its history; deportations threaten existence of churches in Texas
The Field Hospital: In the wake of #MeToo, activists hope to extend New York's time limit for child sex abuse victims to file charges or sue. The church is among those lobbying against that change.
The Field Hospital: Thoughts from a homeless shelter graveyard shift; Mary Help of Christians in Parkland mourns shooting victims; a couple facing possible deportation shares their story.
The Field Hospital: Parishes under the Society of Jesus Christ the Priest are the diocese's traditionalist centerpieces, as some wonder if Francis' optimism will ever reach southwest Wisconsin.
The Field Hospital: Parishes may not be doing required paperwork that complies with norms to combat sex abuse; Why Fr. James Martin was disinvited from NJ speaking event; Priest's attacker makes ugly accusation
The Field Hospital: NCR continues coverage of the archdiocesan-level encuentros with a report from western Oregon. There is a new urgency to reach the estimated 60 percent who are of Latino background among 431,000 Catholics here.
The Field Hospital: St. Pius X Classic Academy in Nashville copes with gun violence deaths; Louisville academy stresses inclusion; Cristo Rey Network expands; Church leaders' Super Bowl bets
Festive moments and open dialogue mixed with concrete goal setting and strong calls to embrace those in need marked the Los Angeles Archdiocese's V Encuentro, a gathering of Hispanic leaders in the nation's largest and most concentrated population of Latino Catholics.
The Field Hospital: Illinois dioceses plan school and parish closings; flu affects Eucharist, sign of peace; connecting with young adults in Pittsburgh; 20 years of perpetual adoration.
The Field Hospital: As priests' numbers decline, a resolution adopted by the Association of U.S. Catholic Priests endorses enlisting the aid of laypeople and deacons for day-to-day parish administration.
The Field Hospital: Students of a Catholic high school in Panorama, California, are getting ready to debut a documentary on the life of First Lady Rosalynn Carter at the historic Rose Bowl.
The Field Hospital: Online fundraiser works for NYC fire victims; parish schools suffering from falling enrollment; two immigrant stories; tips to improve the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults
When German Fernandez learned last week that the Trump administration plans to end Temporary Protected Status for him and around 200,000 other immigrants from El Salvador, it was a nightmare come true.
The Field Hospital: Religious educator and author John Roberto says the changing nature of the modern family means that religious educators need to interact via creative means.
The Field Hospital: Memorial services honor the lives of the homeless who died in 2017; ministries in Orange County, Little Rock and East LA help with the ladder out of homelessness.
The Field Hospital: In Waterbury, Connecticut, six churches were combined into All Saints Parish, which has brought together the city's Latino Catholics and older parishioners of European heritage.
The Field Hospital: Mother, children find sanctuary at Episcopalian church; Ohio priest kills himself amid allegations; pastor is returned to parish after panel deems abuse accusations not credible
The Field Hospital: The reality of deportation was an underlying theme of the meeting at Sacred Heart Seminary Dec. 9, a part of the national V Encuentro process, which brings together Latino and Hispanic Catholics to discuss their lives, struggles and faith.
The Field Hospital: St. Agnes and St. Ignatius' joint statement makes a dozen commitments, including educational programs, legal accompaniment, and advocacy for refugee assistance.
The Field Hospital: One D.C.-area couple has collected 500 nativity scenes; Canadian priest wraps up documentary about mistreatment of aboriginals by church schools; refugees in Alaska learn how to make trendy pickles
In a city where the 1.3 million practicing Catholics range from multimillionaires to the marginalized, delegates from each parish in the diocese came prepared to share the concerns and recommendations that their fellow parishioners had discussed at earlier parish encuentros.
The Field Hospital: Embezzlement and affairs not covered up; Springfield has tithing recommendations; why repealing the Johnson Amendment is dangerous for church and state; former church sites turn into social service centers
The Field Hospital: Deacon and wife minister to migrant farmworker families; angels lift seniors' spirits; New York state dioceses cooperate to put Christmas focus on Jesus.
The Field Hospital: The study surveyed and ranked U.S. dioceses and archdioceses from most transparent to most opaque, based on how much financial info is accessible on diocesan websites.
The Field Hospital: Five minutes from here, the landscape is all ash and ruin. But inside this small chapel, there is a kaleidoscope of stained-glass light and a single man sitting bathed in that light.
The Field Hospital: Split between traditionalists and the rest makes parish merger impossible; priest helps addicts recover; activist keeps pushing for sanctuary in New York.
The Field Hospital: St. Vincent de Paul Society gears up for Thanksgiving demand; medical and legal clinics at the Oakland's cathedral; readers recommend books about Black Elk.
The Field Hospital: Latino Catholics hunger to get involved in lay leadership, and MACC trains them with the goal that they will be comfortable communicating in both English and Spanish.
The Field Hospital: Churches take steps to try for safer spaces; secretary convicted of stealing; it's difficult to track parish donations; Jesuit Fr. Greg Boyle gets on the National Geographic show to talk about gangs
The Field Hospital: The online petition responds to a recent advisory to priests from the vicar general, discouraging Catholic funerals for those in same-sex relationships.
The Field Hospital: The sainthood cause of Lakota leader Black Elk opens in South Dakota; Canadian doctor honored for work with dying; Northern California recovers from wildfires.
The Field Hospital: Trump administration immigration policies are causing anxiety for members of St. Peter Church in Portland. Fr. Raul Marquez now spends much of his time supporting beleaguered parishioners.
The Field Hospital: Catholics respond to hurricane-ravaged communities; celebrating the contributions of those with disabilities; a Texas border town's first gay pride parade.
The Field Hospital: Our church's closing was announced in April by way of the church bulletin. A pall came over the congregation. After the final blessing, the pastor said he was sorry.
The Field Hospital: Interfaith cooperation for homeless; sign language app for prayer; beauty pageant winner joins the Poor Clares; Brooklyn church demolished for housing; update on Sonoma County affected by fire
The Field Hospital: Massive consolidation of Catholic parishes has a familiar ring to mainstream Protestants who have been shedding congregations since the 1970s.
The Field Hospital: Santa Rosa Diocese responds to Northern California's fire crisis; San Diego parish welcomes gay Catholics; A parish in Cooperstown, New York, collects potatoes for the poor
Problems defining or tracking lay pastoral ministers mean it is too early to call the decline in participation in their training programs a trend, but the latest study by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate does support the emergence of Latino influence in the church.
The Field Hospital: Interfaith prayer services bring Las Vegas community together; Blessed Stanley Rother honored; St. Jude Thaddeus in Mexico; Francis announces two-year program to focus on global migration
At St. Mark, the predominantly Hispanic parishioners "open their eyes and hearts and get busy" in ministries that have grown from 10 to 70 in the past three years.
The Field Hospital: Indiana diocese takes part in pope-inspired effort to welcome refugees; Brooklyn bishop celebrates Mass for victims of Mexican earthquakes; Padre Pio relics in Utica, Chicago
The Field Hospital: Facing declines in numbers of priests and Catholics in the pews, the diocesan plan is "not just about reshuffling," but aims to go from "maintenance to mission."
The Field Hospital: Individuals, parishes, schools and other Catholic organizations help victims of earthquakes and hurricanes; Knights' Squires honor 9/11 responders; latest parish-twinning efforts
The Field Hospital: A handful of Catholic parishes and institutions across the country are offering sanctuary to immigrants threatened with deportation. There is no legal exemption for churches in immigration law, but federal agents have generally left church property alone.
The Field Hospital: Latino seminarians ready in Omaha; Catholics aren't the only ones who support child immigrants; dissatisfied parishioners might be uncounted
The Field Hospital: St. Vincent de Paul is a small parish with a very popular noon Sunday Mass, especially when there is a Washington Nationals baseball home game a block away scheduled at 1:35 p.m.
The Field Hospital: Mothers detained by ICE endure separation from families, but eventually released; Parishes and schools salvage, survive after Harvey; Missouri Knights become clowns to bring smiles
The Field Hospital: More than 50 residents at an Amityville retirement community ask Bishop John Barres to "make every effort to advance" the proposal to end obligatory priestly celibacy.
The Field Hospital: Parish closures continue; an AIDS memorial slated to go; renovations in Green Bay, Wisconsin; Pittsburgh appeals the Vatican to keep parishes open; Arise in Milwaukee gets the young adults
The Field Hospital: Honesto Silva Ibarra, a 28-year-old agricultural laborer, died Aug. 6 after becoming ill picking blueberries at Sarbanand Farms in Sumas, Washington.
The Field Hospital: How much impact can a trip to communities in need make? Here are three examples. Also, Chicago's cardinal visits Sacred Heart's center for migrants in Texas.
The Field Hospital: "Personal" parishes for every taste are on the increase; Montana reservations got predatory priests; church in a struggling Kansas town; South Carolina Catholics.
The Field Hospital: Participants from groups such as Catholic Church Reform International and Call to Action will be urging an increased role for the laity in the church.
The Field Hospital: 'Tiny house' project shelters homeless women in Portland; 'destination parishes' reflect trends; Youth from Oahu, Hawaii, gather to discuss church involvement
The Field Hospital: The "Midvale Diocese" shared an intense transition discussion meeting where leaders worked out mergers and other changes, so others could learn from the process.
The Field Hospital: Refugees welcomed in Toledo and St. Paul; religious sister presides at a wedding; Raleigh closes its overflowing cathedral; tragedy ends carnival rides.
The Field Hospital: Saturday vigil Masses at Our Lady of the Assumption in Charlotte are a sign of the wider church in the U.S.: an aging Anglo population, replenished by Latino immigrants making parishes their own.
