Parish roundup: Ex-con's gratitude; miscarriage ministry; Rust Belt recovery

Parishioners in Vancouver are thanked by a former convict for a prison ministry that made a difference in his life.

Up to a quarter of pregnancies end in miscarriage. A guide to how parishes can minister to grieving mothers and families says the starting point is to recognize the grief and mourning that takes place after miscarriage.

Indiana parishes twin with Haitian churches.

Four Catholic parishes in Oswego, New York, are combining into one. Where will the parish church be located? What will its name be? It is a discussion going on throughout the Northeast and Midwest as parishes consolidate.

Upstate New York Catholics assist in the rebuilding of a church in the Dominican Republic.

Rust Belt Catholic parishes have been hit hard by the twin crises of economic dislocation and sex abuse. Now they are in the process of recovery.

In Ireland, seminarians are now expected to spend more of their time in parishes.

A third of Canada's churches, many of them Catholic, are expected to close over the next 10 years.

[Peter Feuerherd is a correspondent for NCR's Field Hospital series on parish life and is a professor of journalism at St. John's University, New York.]

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