Two years ago, I wrote an essay, “C’mon, Ring Those Bells!,” in response to the decision of an Italian bishop to limit how much churches could ring bells due to complaints about “noise pollution.” I argued that bells are aural sacramentals: they make present a reminder of God through our ears. That piece was among…

Last week the Pew Research Center released a new survey on religion in America; their first major study of this type since 2014. Upon the survey’s publication, I could almost hear a collective groan from Catholics, since we’ve come to approach such polls with a sense of dread. The question isn’t, “Will it be bad?”…