The Paulist Center Community offers members and all who gather a warm, spiritual home for progressive Catholics. In May 2006, the Paulist Center established the Paulist North American Office for Reconciliation “To develop a wide pastoral process to address the needs for dialogue and reconciliation in the Church today.” HNMCP was asked to conduct a conflict assessment of the Boston Archdiocese and suggest approaches for reconciliation and healing.

Our work

Step 1: Research the history and organization of the Catholic Church, the background of recent Boston-specific troubles in the Archdiocese, and the theory and practice of dispute resolution in various contexts.

Step 2: Interview various stakeholders including parishioners, clergy, and inactive Catholics from across the Archdiocese to determine what conflicts exist and what resolution processes are already in place.

Final Product: A report detailing the findings of the research on conflict in the Boston Archdiocese and the results of the stakeholder interviews. The report also made recommendations for possible reconciliation and healing processes for the Catholic community.