You will find some 17,000 Catholic parishes across the U.S. in farm communities, suburbs, and all sorts of city neighborhoods. In some ways, the Catholic parish is the most egalitarian of all Western institutions. It brings together people of all professions, occupations, social classes, and races. Within it—before God’s judgment seat—the poorest woman has equal rank with the highest archbishop. The Catholic parish is, in fact, the birthplace of the dream of equality in Western civilization. Greek and Roman culture did not believe in equality.
By soliciting advice in all regions of the country and by conducting visitations, William E. Simon, Jr. and his researchers chose 244 of the greatest parishes among us. His researchers then conducted rigorous interviews, asking his respondents, “What makes a Catholic parish ‘great’?” An unprecedentedly high percentage spoke of four distinguishing marks.
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