Since 1995, the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA), at Georgetown University has been publishing The CARA Report, providing our readers with the most important and up-to-date research on American Catholics and the Catholic Church in the United States. The CARA Report was awarded first place for "general excellence" by the Catholic Press Association in 2003, 2005, 2007, and in 2008. Judges for the 2007 awards noted, "It is hard to imagine a Catholic who wouldn't find something of interest in this newsletter. The variety of topics addressed in informative articles and graphics stands out from the field of newsletters in this category... Though reporting on academic research, the stories are clearly written and understandable. Graphics are not fancy, but are used extensively and always add clarity." In 2008, judges commented that the publication has "lots of graphics [to] help explain a variety of research findings on many topics, and overall, it presents itself as a one-stop shop for information on trends in both the church and in larger society."

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Report: Is Educational Debt Affecting Vocations?

February, 2012
This report is a national view of the impact of educational debt on vocations. Includes data on the number of new vocations entering formation with student debt, the average amount of student debt, and the ways that communities deal with the debt.

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Catholic Ministry Formation Enrollments: Statistical Overview for 2010-2011

The latest statistics on current enrollments in U.S. Catholic ministry formation programs are now available from the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University. CARA collects enrollment data on every Catholic ministry formation program that prepares men and women for ministry in the U.S. Church as priests, deacons, and lay ecclesial ministers. This statistical overview of enrollment data is published annually and a complete directory, listing the names, addresses, and other pertinent information on each program is published every other year. The 2010-2011 statistical overview of enrollments is now available free of charge in PDF format. For more information on the Ministry Formation Directory, including ordering a copy of the full directory, click here.

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The Changing Face of U.S. Parishes

July, 2011
The Changing Face of U.S. Catholic Parishes details the findings from the first phase of the study, a 2010 national survey of pastors and other parish leaders at 846 randomly selected U.S. parishes. In the last decade, the numbers of Catholic priests and Catholic parishes have declined in number, but the scale of parish life in the United States has expanded along with the nation's growing Catholic population. Bigger parishes, more Masses, and ministries in languages other than English are becoming the norm.

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The report is also available online for no charge at the Emerging Models website:

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The Class of 2011: Survey of Ordinands to the Priesthood

March, 2011
This report presents results of the survey of ordinands of the Class of 2011, including a total of 329 ordinands. These 329 ordinands include 275 ordinands to the diocesan priesthood, from 128 different dioceses and archdioceses, and 54 ordinands to the religious priesthood. The questionnaire asked ordinands about their demographic and religious background, education, previous ministry and work experience, encouragement and discouragement to consider the priesthood, and experience with vocation programs. This report presents analyses of each question from all ordinands combined as well as separately for diocesan and religious ordinands. The report also contains trend data on selected items since 1999, the first year for which comparable data on both diocesan and religious ordinands are available.

The report is availble free of charge from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).

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