Our Experts in the News: December 2022

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  1. ‘A renowned theologian, a holy man’: President Biden, Cardinal Dolan, other U.S. Catholics respond to Pope Benedict XVI’s death

    Kathleen Sprows Cummings, director of the Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism at the University of Notre Dame, said in a statement that Benedict leaves “a complicated legacy.” 

    Originally published at news.nd.edu.

  2. Churchgoing and belief in God stand at historic lows, despite a megachurch surge

    “Somebody who has no religious affiliation, they may well value religion,” said David Campbell, a political scientist at the University of Notre Dame. 

    Originally published at news.nd.edu.

  3. The Miraculous Life and Afterlife of Charlene Richard

    “Sainthood links the local church to the universal church,” says Kathleen Sprows Cummings, director of Notre Dame’s Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism, who wrote “A Saint of Our Own,” about the more than century-old campaign for a patron saint of the United States (leading contenders include St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and St. Kateri Tekakwitha, though each was born before the country’s founding).

    Originally published at news.nd.edu.

  4. Catholics need a restorative justice approach to the church’s sexual abuse crisis

    Daniel Philpott is a professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame.

    Originally published at news.nd.edu.

  5. Eucharistic Revival seen as chance to minister with Latino Catholics

    Timothy Matovina, a professor of theology at the University of Notre Dame who focuses on Latino Catholics, said that many Latinos "almost act sometimes as if the Eucharist is reserved for the most holy. You'll hear people say, 'Well, my parents were divorced, so I can't receive Communion,' which of course is not true."

    Originally published at news.nd.edu.

  6. The Reinvention of the Catholic Church

    As John T. McGreevy observes in Catholicism: A Global History From the French Revolution to Pope Francis, signs that the Church has lost vitality are abundant.

    Originally published at news.nd.edu.