CARA stands for Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, located at Georgetown University. They do phenomenal work pulling together and interpreting statistics on a variety of issues important to ministry (ordained and lay ministry) and parish life. Occasionally we highlight blog posts here. But you may want to check out their blog on a regular basis. It is called 1964, and you can also get notices via twitter at caracatholic .
1964: The CARA blog
A few posts of particular interest: Who is getting paid at your parish? (good for everyone)
The Catholic Teenager: a few mysteries solved (interesting for future youth ministers)
Do Catholic Schools Matter? (focus on elementary and high schools, good for Religious Ed majors)
Poke around in the CARA blog and on their main website. There is amazing information in there, and it gives you a strong sense of the Catholic Church in America--not just your own experience of it.
