Mark Piper

It is fitting that Pope Francis will canonize Nunzio Sulprizio during the Synod on Youth. Even in his brief life, he was a credible witness to suffering, accompaniment and the joy of the Gospel.

Young Voices: Lay associates are a dynamic part of the church today. My experience with Mercy associates, within the Institute of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, has provided spiritual sustenance that I've not gotten in any parish setting over the past decade.

The poet famously asked, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? Now that I have reached the age of 30, the question has turned into an examen.

Young Voices: When I see evil and folks who might get my ire up, I think of these people with good and working hearts, people committed to the Gospel and building God's kingdom.

Young Voices: Ten years ago, a seminary application asked me to comment on women in ministry. Most any answer I could have given then would have been an impoverished one.

Young Voices: Pope Francis talks about "missionary creativity," and here are eight perhaps not-so-obvious steps that parishes can take to answer his call — to be more welcoming and spiritually fulfilling as communities.

Young Voices: "The Christian community welcomes you." Just which community is my son being baptized into, what makes it Christian, and who is on the welcoming committee?

Young Voices: As a young adult gainfully employed in the U.S., where we are about to celebrate Labor Day, it seemed appropriate to discuss issues of laborers and the church today.