In the Pews

Stories of real-life Catholics living out their faith, with reporting on parishes, ministries, and vocation.

A mother’s anguish

In an essay from 2005, one mother shares the lifetime of suffering beneath the clergy sex-abuse headlines. I am a mother of a son who was sexually abused...

Whitewash or renewal?

In year two of the sex-abuse scandal, it it time for the laity to brush up on their leadership skills? About 200 laypeople from some 50 Chicago-area parishes...

Out of sight, out of mind

Once ubiquitous, the parish priest is disappearing into thin air, with troubling effects on young Catholic imaginations. A few years ago while teaching, I...