Sociologist says good news on U.S. Catholics outweighs bad

Published: 2007-10-05

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate honored sociologist James D. Davidson of Purdue University in Indiana and Msgr. Francis J. Maniscalco, former U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops spokesman, for their contributions to church research. In a talk before CARA's annual awards dinner Oct. 3 at Georgetown University in Washington, Davidson said there is much more good news than bad about U.S. Catholics. The picture that emerges from his 40 years of social research on religion in America shows a Catholic laity that for the most part is involved in the church, knows and affirms its core teachings, is highly educated and is sophisticated in relating faith to public life, he said. Msgr. Maniscalco, a priest of the Diocese of Rockville Centre, N.Y., was USCCB director of media relations from 1993 to 1994 and secretary of communications from 1994 to 2006. In remarks during the dinner he quoted from the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates, "The unexamined life is not worth living. I think that is true of communities as well," he said. He praised CARA and others who engage in social research on the church for helping it to live an examined life. CARA, an independent Catholic research agency founded in 1964, has been affiliated with Georgetown University since 1989.

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