Catholic Bishops in the United States: Church Leadership in the Third Millennium
Stephen J. Fichter, Thomas P. Gaunt, Catherine Hoegeman, and Paul M. Perl
Abstract
During the past 30 years the Catholic bishops of the United States have captured the national headlines with their statements on nuclear disarmament and economic justice, their struggles to address sexual abuse by clergy, their concerns about abortion and religious freedom, and their defense of refugees and immigrants. The nearly 200 bishops leading local dioceses, though, are a varied mix of Church leaders. In 2016 all of the bishops were surveyed with an eye to better understanding who are the bishops as individuals (their background, education, and experiences), what are their day-to-day ac ... More
During the past 30 years the Catholic bishops of the United States have captured the national headlines with their statements on nuclear disarmament and economic justice, their struggles to address sexual abuse by clergy, their concerns about abortion and religious freedom, and their defense of refugees and immigrants. The nearly 200 bishops leading local dioceses, though, are a varied mix of Church leaders. In 2016 all of the bishops were surveyed with an eye to better understanding who are the bishops as individuals (their background, education, and experiences), what are their day-to-day activities, their challenges and satisfactions as Church leaders, how they manage their dioceses, and how they speak out on public issues. The data are enriched by frequent quotes and anecdotes from the interviewed bishops. During the past 25 years the Church has gone from Pope John Paul II to Benedict XVI to Pope Francis, and the Catholic Church in the United States, along with its bishops, are dramatically different. The bishops of the United States have had their leadership tested by the sex abuse scandals, the movement of Catholics from the Northeast and Midwest to the South and West, and the arrival of more Catholic immigrants than they have seen in a century along with the ongoing decline in the number of priests and sisters serving the Catholic community. This book provides a unique and comprehensive view of who the bishops are, where they are from, and how they are leading the Church in the United States in the era of Pope Francis.
Keywords:
U.S. Catholic bishops,
leadership,
Church governance,
challenges and hopes,
social issues
Bibliographic Information
Print publication date: 2019 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780190920289 |
Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: February 2019 |
DOI:10.1093/oso/9780190920289.001.0001 |
Authors
Affiliations are at time of print publication.
Stephen J. Fichter, author
Adjunct Professor, Immaculate Conception Seminary
Thomas P. Gaunt, author
Executive Director, Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate
Catherine Hoegeman, author
Assistant Professor of Sociology, Missouri State University
Paul M. Perl, author
Researcher, Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate
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