Catholics USA: Makers of a Modern Church

The 25 men and women interviewed here are, as Cateura ( Growing Up Italian ) notes, Catholic ``believers of every stripe.'' They include Senator Edward Kennedy, whose apologia has a rote tone; N.Y. Governor Mario Cuomo, who discourses on religious belief and public morality; Jesuit John McNeill, who ministers exclusively to homosexuals; Frank Shakespeare, ambassador to the Holy See; John Richard, a black bishop; and a gallery of others from all walks of life who speak of their deep commitment to Catholicism in our secular society. The interviews, revelatory in their diversity of opinion of religious practice, indicate a vitality in American Catholicism and dispute the reputation of the church as a monolithic structure. Photos not seen by PW. First serial to the N.Y. Daily News and Catholic Digest. (Nov.)