Catholic Parishes of the 21st Century

Charles Zech is a professor of economics in the Villanova University School of Business and the Director of Villanova's Center for Church Management. He is the author or co-author of over 50 articles and 12 books on the topic of church management. Mary L. Gautier is a sociologist and senior research associate at CARA. She specializes in Catholic demographic trends in the United States. She edits The CARA Report, and is the co-author of eight books on Catholicism. Mark M. Gray is the director of CARA Catholic Polls and a senior research associate at CARA. A political scientist, he specializes at CARA in attitudinal and polling research. He teaches in Georgetown University's Catholic Studies and Liberal Studies programs. Jonathon Wiggins is a CARA researcher whose primary focus is helping parishes to plan for the future through Parish Life Surveys. He teaches part-time at Georgetown University, where he once served as a chaplain-in-residence. Thomas P. Gaunt, S.J. is the executive director at CARA. Prior to CARA, he served in Jesuit governance on the national and province level for sixteen years, and earlier on was a pastor and director of planning in the Dioces of Charlotte for ten years.

Foreword

Chapter One: Introduction
Chapter Two: A Quarter-Century of Change
Chapter Three: Changing Demographics in Pastoral Leadership
Chapter Four: Parish Reconfiguration Strategies
Chapter Five: Parish Administration
Chapter Six: Catholic Parish Finances in the Twenty-First Century
Chapter Seven: Who's in the Pews
Chapter Eight: Cultural Diversity in Parish Life
Chapter Nine: The View from the Pews
Chapter Ten: Summary and Conclusions

Appendix
Notes
References
Index