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"100 Questions and Answers About U.S. Catholics" addresses the basic questions people have about the world's largest church and how it operates in the United States of America, one of the countries with the largest Catholic population.
With nearly 70 million Catholics in the U.S., Catholicism touches nearly every corner of American life, from religious holidays and schools to politics and public debates. Myths, stereotypes, and confusion often cloud understanding of what Catholics actually believe and practice. This handy book brings readers concise, respectful answers on everything from Mass to confession, saints, Mary, and the pope to church history, contemporary challenges, and the diversity of American Catholic life today.
The legacy of Pope Francis is a major part of the current U.S. Catholic story, as the guide was written during his most active years as pope. With that timing, there is attention to his social and political pronouncements as well as steps he took in selecting cardinals, "Princes of the Church" who determined who his successor would be and who would continue his legacy. Two years before he died, Francis elevated the man who would become Pope Leo XIV to the College of Cardinals. Francis made fundamental statements about poverty and justice, peace, global warming, women in the church, Vatican finances and the decades-old scandal of child sexual abuse. Like preceding popes, Francis continued to shepherd changes brought by the Vatican Council gatherings of the 1960s, a global initiative to revitalize the church. Francis spoke strongly on social issues such as global warming, immigration, economic disparity and COVID-19.
The story of the Catholic Church in the United States is no less interesting. This guide explores some of the fault lines within the U.S. church. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is wrestling with declining vocations at a time when the number of Americans who are religiously unaffiliated is at a historic high. Many U.S. Catholics adhere to the church but do not follow all its teachings.
This is a politically pivotal time for the U.S. Catholic Church. Abortion, the environment, national and world politics divide Catholics, who make up about 20% of the nation's population. Catholics, who were once shut out of political power in the United States, now hold most seats on the U.S. Supreme Court and have commanding influence in the U.S. Congress and the White House.
Even though one in five Americans are Catholic in this largely Christian nation, non-members have plenty of questions. These are some of the questions answered in this guide:
Who do Catholics say God is?
Who is the Holy Spirit?
Do Catholics believe in heaven and hell?
Do Catholics believe people of other religions will go to heaven?
Are there major and minor sins?
What does the church say about purgatory?
What is the role of saints?
What is a "Cafeteria Catholic"?
How did Catholic schools contribute to U.S. education?
How does Catholic school differ from public school?
Must Catholic children attend Sunday school?
How are popes chosen?
Is the pope infallible?
May women be priests?
Are Catholics Christian?
Must Catholics obey the pope?
Do Catholics worship Mary?
Do Catholics worship saints?
Do Catholics perform exorcisms?
Do Catholics tithe?
How do Catholics view premarital sex?
What are Catholic views on Catholics marrying non-Catholics?
What is an annulment?
Do Catholics welcome the LGBTQ+ community?
How is the church responding to sexual abuse by clergy?
What do Catholics believe about vaccinations?
