Father Larry Janowski says the new, more literal translation of the words of the Mass from the original Latin are “like sawdust in the mouth. They’re difficult to say.”

“There is no such thing as a perfect translation. Every translation is in some ways an experiment, and there are many parts of the new translation [of the Roman Missal] that are much better,” according to this professor of liturgy and music at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago.

A new survey finds that Catholics in the US are making up their own minds about social and moral concerns. As one of the authors of the survey, William D’Antonio, said, American Catholics like being Catholic but they like to do it on their own terms.

Despite having sustained a serious head injury three years ago, Father Andrew Greeley is still a priest. “We know that he is blessed, and he’s blessing us, and it means a lot,” says Greeley’s niece, Eileen Durkin.

The Catholic Church’s complex system for declaring someone a saint has evolved since the thirteenth century.

Watch more about the deeply personal roles saints can play for individual Catholics.

Watch more about the documentation that must be gathered before someone can be proclaimed a saint.

Join our discussion of the most anticipated religion and ethics news in 2011, from social and cultural issues to the political and economic debates that loom ahead.

Look back at excerpts from our conversations with reporters over the past 10 years on religion and its changing role in the world.

Benedict has increased the number of Italians and Vatican bureaucrats in the College of Cardinals, observes Thomas Reese, SJ, a senior fellow at Georgetown University's Woodstock Theological Center.