Thomas P. Gaunt, SJ – författare

The history of religious life in the Catholic Church has been filled with change: periods of membership growth and decline, shifts in the types of ministries, and changes in the ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds of the men and women who join. Today, as the numbers of new members diminish, some say that the very future of religious life is in jeopardy. What is the state of religious life in the United States today? Which institutes are increasing in membership and which are decreasing or ceasing to exist? From what ethnic and socioeconomic populations are they drawing their members? What new religious institutes and ecclesial movements are being founded and how successful are they? What influences a young man or woman to consider religious life today? How are religious from other countries shaping religious life here as they come to the US to minister?Many of these questions can be addressed by data from studies of religious life in the US which the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) has conducted over the last ten years. The impact of the individual's family dynamics and educational experience before their entrance into religious life is examined here, as well as the influence of an increasing number of Catholic volunteer programs. The emergence of lay associates in religious institutes and the birth of new religious institutes since Vatican Council II in the United States are investigated as new ways of living religious life. The increase in the number of sisters and priests studying and ministering in the United States from other countries is examined for its impact on religious life. The authors' findings yield valuable recommendations for religious institutes and vocation directors who wish to attract new members.

In the past thirty years, the Catholic bishops of the United States have made headlines with their statements on nuclear disarmament and economic justice, their struggles to address sexual abuse by clergy, and their defense of refugees and immigrants. Despite many similarities, the nearly two hundred U.S. bishops are a diverse mix of varying backgrounds and opinions. The last research- based book to study the bishops of the United States came out in 1989, since which time the Church has gone from Pope John Paul II to Benedict XVI to Pope Francis and undergone dramatic shifts.Catholic Bishops in the United States: Church Leadership in the Third Millennium presents the results of a 2016 survey conducted by the Center of Applied Research for the Apostolate (CARA). It reveals the U.S. bishops'' individual experiences, their day-to-day activities, their challenges and satisfactions as Church leaders, and their strategies for managing their dioceses and speaking out on public issues. The bishops'' leadership has been tested by changes including the movement of Catholics from the Northeast and Midwest to the South and West, the arrival of huge numbers of Catholic immigrants, and the ongoing decline in the number of priests and sisters serving the Catholic community. This book provides a much-needed, up-to-date, and comprehensive view of who the U.S. bishops of today are, where they are from, and how they are leading the Church in the United States in the era of Pope Francis.