Author Archives: maureenkday

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About maureenkday

I am a sociologist of Catholicism, exploring this tradition through a variety of lenses including civic engagement, parish life, priestly wellbeing and burnout, campus ministry, Catholic sisters' ministries, stewardship and more. I am a Visiting Research Fellow at Villanova University's Center for Church Management. I am a Research Affiliate at the Center for Religion and Civic Culture as well as the Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies, both at the University of Southern California. My previous research or advisory affiliations include the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University, the Center for Church Management at Villanova University, the Center for the Study of Religion and Society at the University of Notre Dame, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and The Catholic Project at the Catholic University of America. My writings on American Catholic life appear in both Catholic and academic publications, including Catholicism at a Crossroads: The Present and Future of America's Largest Church (NYUP 2025).

The Joy of Love

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1Paulist Press just released a book on the pastoral application of Amoris Laetitia. Edited by Thomas P. Rausch, SJ and Roberto Dell’Oro, Pope Francis on the Joy of Love: Theological and Pastoral Reflections on Amoris Laetitia is an insightful and practical book for parishes and dioceses looking to bring The Joy of Love into their marriage and family ministries. I am very happy to have contributed a chapter to this book: “Preparing Couples for Marriage.”

The description of the book on Paulist’s website reads: Pope Francis’s document, Amoris Laetitia, is first and foremost a pastoral message aimed at transforming parish culture. Through this document, the pope calls parishes to consider seriously their practice of hospitality and how they reach out to people in their communities.

Given this consideration, this book examines the pastoral dimension of the document—examining practical aspects of implementation, singling out issues each parish may need to flesh out—and provides end-of-chapter pastoral questions to guide parish communities in responding to this call.

Young Adult Catholics

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1The book is out!

In exploring thirteen subpopulations of young adult Catholics (e.g., Catholic undergraduates, Black Catholics), readers will gain a strong sense of where Catholic young adults, in all their diversity, are today. Each section is introduced by a social scientist who offers the bigger picture; contributors here are Jerome P. Baggett, Jeffrey M. Burns, Tricia C. Bruce, Stephen M. Cherry, John Coleman, S.J., Maureen K. Day, Michele Dillon, Mark Erdosy, Mary Gautier, Kathleen Garces-Foley, Mary Ellen Konieczny, Hosffman Ospino, Tia M. Pratt, Brian Starks, and Jeana Visel, O.S.B. This is followed by 2-6 “experiential” contributors, that is, young adults who are a part of that subgroup. Each section concludes with discussion questions to help the reader think through how they might better understand or minister to that group.

It is selling well! It hit #2 on Paulist’s bestsellers list and, after over a month, still ranks very high. My deep thanks to all the contributors for a fantastic and thorough collection; may it serve the readers well!