Vol. 75, No. 10
Cover
The need for closure: When a parish shuts its doors
By J.D. Long-Garcia
The death of a parish is traumatic enough, but grief can turn to anger when members feel foul play was involved. But even if the end is inevitable, there are ways to prevent the pointing of fingers.
Sidebar:
Merging parishes with a minimum of misery
Related:
The value of a faith community can’t be crunched on a balance sheet
Reader Survey
Used books
By Meghan Murphy-Gill
U.S. Catholic readers love to, well, read, from magazines to blogs to books, books, books, writes Meghan Murphy-Gill in this Reader Survey. They’ve bookmarked the authors who keep them turning pages.
Web-only sidebar:
Reading list: Suggested reading from the readers of U.S. Catholic
Feature
Act II
By Tara Dix Osborne
While the incarcerated women of the Persephone Project may never see their names in lights, theater is bringing them a new confidence fame could never deliver.
Essays
(Essays, short stories, and poems may not be available online.)
Read into it
By Colleen Mary Carpenter
We know that God comes to us in sacraments and scripture, but that favorite novel may be a window to the divine as well.
She’s Nobody
By Joan Sauro, C.S.J.
Emily Dickinson may have found it dreary to be Somebody but Joan Sauro, C.S.J. still finds her worthy of remembrance.
Who wants to be a Bible scholar?
While they can’t offer you a million-dollar prize, Paul Boudreau and Alice Camille promise your reward will be great in heaven if you can score high on their test of Holy Writ.
Wise Guides: Southern misfit
By Ted Rosean
Georgia writer Flannery O’Connor was no shrinking violet. Not only did she have an uncanny ability to look evil in the face, she could see right through it to the grace that cannot be overcome.
Departments
Editors’ Note
You May Be Right (Letters to the Editor)
Signs of the Times (News)
Catholic Tastes (Humor)
Culture in Context: Music, film, and book reviews
At Home with Our Faith (Family spirituality)
Eye of the Beholder (Art meditation)
Glad You Asked: Does the church still ban books?
Columns
The Examined Life: Will the center hold?
By Bryan Cones
Margin Notes: Born in the U.S.A.
By Kevin Clarke
Culture in Context: Eat, pay, work
By Patrick McCormick
Testaments: The Gospel truth
By Alice Camille
