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Reprinted from AD2000 Vol 11 No 7 (August 1998), p. 12 U.S. Priests and seminarians survey: more vocations in orthodox dioceses A comparative analysis of different 'styles’ of US dioceses was recently undertaken by Human Life International (HLI). The survey sought to compare the numbers of priests and seminarians in dioceses broadly typed as "orthodox" and "progressive". For the purposes of its study HLI defined an "orthodox" diocese as one that had exhibited a "general predisposition of fidelity towards the Magisterium since Vatican II." The term "progressive" was applied to a diocese exhibiting "a general predisposition towards liberal activism and...

Florida's Catholic community is putting its money where its mouth is when it comes to the battle over embryonic stem-cell research. Four of the state's seven diocese top the list of donors to Citizens for Science and Ethics Inc., a political action committee working to keep tax money from being used to finance embryonic stem-cell research. The head of the committee is Boca Raton businesswoman and media personality Susan Cutaia. The Florida Catholic Conference, an agency of Catholic bishops, asked each diocese to make a contribution based on its size. Topping the list is the Archdiocese of Miami, which pitched...

Louisiana, Mississippi Dioceses Devastated By Hurricane; Poorest Dioceses Hurt The Most WASHINGTON (September 1, 2005)—Dioceses in Louisiana and Mississippi face unparalleled devastation from Hurricane Katrina, reports from bishops in several of the dioceses indicate. The reports came in to the offices of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops shortly after USCCB officials e-mailed and faxed the bishops of Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky and Alabama August 30 to advise them that USCCB president, Bishop William Skylstad of Spokane (WA), had called for a national collection and prayers in churches for those afflicted by the disastrous hurricane. Some bishops in the affected...

Catholic Church Provides Food, Facilities, Medical Services For Gulf Coast People Displaced By Katrina WASHINGTON (September 1, 2005)--Catholic Church facilities nationwide, and especially in Louisiana, Mississippi and East Texas, are responding to emergency and long-term needs by providing shelters, food, medicine and schooling for Hurricane Katrina refugees. Virtually all dioceses nationwide planned parish collections the first weekends of September. In addition, further immediate assistance is coming through everything from Catholic Charities agencies, St. Vincent DePaul Societies, Catholic schools, Catholic hospitals, parishes, retreat centers and families. Examples abound. The Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, Texas, where well over 30,000 storm refugees relocated from...

by Samuel J. Gerdano, Esq Other Articles by Samuel J. Gerdano, Esq Diocesan Bankruptcies: A Feast for Lawyers 12/04/04 Bankruptcy filings by various Catholic dioceses are now the rage. The Archdiocese of Portland (Oregon), faced with $155 million in tort claims — after paying some $53 million to settle 100 cases — filed for court protection under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code on July 6. This was soon followed by a similar bankruptcy by the Tucson Diocese on September 20. The Diocese of Davenport, Iowa averted a bankruptcy only after paying $9 million in late October to settle some 37...

CONTACT YOUR DIOCESE AND MAIL THE OPEN LETTER Dioceses By State AlbanyAlexandriaAllentownAltoona-JohnstownAmarilloAnchorageArlingtonArmenian Apostolic Exarchate for the USA and CanadaAtlantaAustinBakerBaltimoreBaton RougeBeaumontBellevilleBiloxiBirminghamBismarckBoiseBostonBridgeportBrooklynBrownsvilleBuffaloBurlingtonCamdenCharlestonCharlotteCheyenneChicagoCincinnatiClevelandColorado SpringsColumbusCorpus ChristiCovingtonCrookstonDallasDavenportDenverDes MoinesDetroitDodge CityDubuqueDuluthEl PasoErieEvansvilleFairbanksFall RiverFargoFort Wayne-South BendFort WorthFresnoGallupGavleston-HoustonGaryGaylord Grand Island Grand Rapids Great Falls-Billings Green Bay Greensburg Harrisburg Hartford Helena Honolulu Houma-Thibodaux Indianapolis Jackson Jefferson City Joliet Juneau Kalamazoo Kansas City Kansas City-St. Joseph Knoxville La Crosse Lafayette Lafayette in Indiana Lake Charles Lansing Laredo Las Cruces Las Vegas Lexington Lincoln Lithuanian Catholics outside Lithuania Little Rock Los Angeles Louisville Lubbock Madison Manchester Marquette Memphis Metuchen Miami Military Services Milwaukee Mobile Monterey Nashville New Orleans New Ulm New York...

Code: ZE04072906 Date: 2004-07-29 Dioceses Must Fill Need for Catechesis, Says Cardinal Castrillón Calls It a "Work of Justice" VATICAN CITY, JULY 29, 2004 (Zenit.org).- The faithful have a right to sound catechesis, and it is up to parishes and diocesan movements in communion with the bishop to provide such instruction, says a Vatican official. When opening the European Catechetical Conference, Cardinal Darío Castrillón Hoyos, prefect of the Congregation for Clergy, referred to the plea of many Catholics who want to learn more about the faith. The Vatican dicastery organized the conference. "The parishes and the new ecclesial movements...

Vicariates help parishes to share talent, pool resources 02/21/2003 Ed Langlois For some things, a diocese is too big and a parish is too small. That’s one reason there are regional groupings of Catholic churches called vicariates or deaneries. As the number of clergy drops, vicariates may grow in importance, priests say. Parishes are likely to share ministry, pool resources and forge regional Catholic unity. “What we are getting towards is vicariate-level ministry and doing things together so that if we are left with two priests instead of four priests in this region we can still manage,” says Father...