Peter Feuerherd

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.

Two titans of theological public discourse came together in front of a packed house at the Sheen Center here Dec. 13. New York Times columnist Ross Douthat and Jesuit Fr. James Martin discussed how theological argument can be made in the public sphere.

"It is not easy to be in the middle, and to be loyal to both ends of the spectrum, to belong to the church of orthodoxy and yet also to minister in the world of the unorthodox. It truly involves being, as the saying goes, between a rock and the hard place."

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: Churches are vulnerable, says one security expert, "because they invite the public and want to reach out to those with hurts."

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.

A five-person panel examined how American life seemed to have lost its moral center. Speakers discussed a nationwide political crisis, the loneliness they've seen on the streets, and what can be regained.

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.

Update: Different deadlines for three compensation programs have created confusion in cases involving priests who victimized children in a diocese where they were not ordained, says attorney.

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: 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.

Disputes over sex and gender have ripped apart the Protestant world and threaten to create schism among Catholics, but perhaps there's hope for a new Reformation about such issues, theologians and writers said in an Oct. 17 panel discussion at Fordham University.

Bishop John Barres said the program, modeled after those in New York and Brooklyn, will allow the church "to stand in solidarity with survivors" of clergy sexual abuse.

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.