Two basic questions about Catholic schools are addressed: (1) what is the current status of Catholic schooling in the United States? and (2) what does an analysis of recent trends suggest about the prospects for Catholic schools in the future? Recent research about Catholic schools can be divided into three categories. The first category is descriptive and answers questions concerning the role of Catholic schooling in the United States. The second addresses the effectiveness or the outcomes of schooling, and the third examines why Catholic schools are effective and how they operate. The future prospects of Catholic schools in the United States will be shaped by the degree to which the schools and their supporters respond to the basic challenges of finance and staffing. Additionally, the Catholic education community needs to find ways to balance the freedom and autonomy of the local schools with a commitment to collaboration and mutual support among the schools and communities they serve. However, the ultimate challenge that Catholic schools must address is their position within the Catholic community as a whole. A crisis of commitment has affected the schools to the extent that some now regard them as an endangered species. The answer is linked to the challenge within the Catholic community to provide the kind of vision and leadership that transcends institutional and regional boundaries. (KM)