AN INTERVIEW WITH ERNESTO CORTES Ernesto Cortes, the Southwest regional director of the Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF), is widely regarded as the most effective grassroots organizer in the nation. Working with congregations and faith communities to improve public life has … More →

March 2, 2001

Many houses of worship have worked hard to be more welcoming to people with disabilities. But the deaf prefer to worship within their own community, and to be ministered to by other deaf people. More →

January 12, 2001

The National Conference of Catholic Bishops have approved the first national guideline for church art and architecture. Titled “Built of Living Stones,” the document advises parishes, priests, and architects on appropriate church styles, which reflect solid theological foundations. More →

November 17, 2000

Political experts say Roman Catholics are among the most important swing votes in the 2000 election. They still support the Democratic Party overwhelmingly, but there are growing political divisions among the nation’s 60 million Catholics. More →

October 27, 2000

As corporate farming displaces more and more family farms in America’s Great Plains, ranchers and farmers move away. Local businesses are forced to shut down, schools consolidate, and congregations become so small they have to close their churches. More →

June 23, 2000

In Rwanda, tribal violence and genocide broke out on an almost unimaginable scale. Eight hundred thousand people were killed in little more than three months. Now, as the country recovers, churches are experiencing dramatic growth in the Hutu and Tutsi efforts to find reconciliation. More →

June 9, 2000

BOB ABERNETHY: Our cover story today comes from the U.S.-Mexico border and reports the growing conflict there between enforcing the law and helping illegal immigrants in need. Despite walls and patrols, undocumented immigrants continue to pour into the U.S., sometimes … More →

November 26, 1999

  BOB ABERNETHY: Now our cover story, a special kind of spirituality. The word “spirituality” has come to mean all kinds of private experience of the sacred, in church and often out of it. Our story is about a unique … More →

November 11, 1999

These terrifying – or sometimes whimsical – sculptures decorate the outside of many cathedrals and houses of worship. But what are they doing there? More →

October 29, 1999

BOB ABERNETHY: It was just two years ago that Mother Teresa died. The work of her worldwide missionary order continues, and so does the work of another missionary nun in Calcutta, a nun who ministers to the poor in a … More →

September 3, 1999