Peter Feuerherd

"I feel we are being cheated," says one retired lay employee who received notice from the La Crosse Diocese that her monthly pension will end with one lump sum payment this summer.

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

Bishop Callahan told retirees that pension checks will end with a to-be-determined single payment this summer. "It's the unclear part that upsets people," says one retired teacher.

The Field Hospital: Latino Catholics keeping Ohio parishes alive; millionaire priest in Michigan; Buffalo sex abuse history; artistic and interfaith Stations in New York

Citing costs, the archdiocese said it is dropping its challenge to a state law that bans religious cemeteries from selling headstones, but "we continue to believe that the law is unjust."

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.

Archbishop Robert Carlson says there is no reason for anyone to own an assault weapon like the kind used in the recent Florida school shooting, though hunting is a different issue entirely.

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: 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.

New York – The Vatican’s troubleshooter for high profile sex abuse cases took testimony today in Manhattan from a victim who says a Chilean bishop, whom Pope Francis has defended, witnessed his abuse and ignored it. 

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.

Ross Douthat and Massimo Faggioli usually keep their debates about Pope Francis confined to cyberspace, but Jan. 31, they took their arguments person-to-person at Fordham University for a crowd of about 300.

National Catholic Schools Week: Loyola School's Global Initiatives program permeates the preparatory school curriculum, developing its students into citizens prepared to be active in the world.

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: 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