Very interesting discussion re the non-cooperation of the NYC Catholic Churches. I notice Chicago and Hartford dioceses both referenced as cooperative. I have had similar success with Catholic Church records in Luzerne Co., PA, Flagstaff, AZ, and Santa Fe, NM.as well as in Ireland. In fact, the New Mexico Genealogical Society has published the b and m records for most of the parishes in NM, some of which date back to 1598. And some of them were established during the Inquisition! So, it isn't a matter of not being allowed by law to do lookups, it is a matter of not being willing. I agree with the suggestion to do a general index where one could at least determine what parish to contact and pay for a record. The Italian Genealogical Society has done a remarkable job with their transcription of records, as has been mentioned. Saying it is too big a job is self-defeating. From the volume of correspondence on this website, there is a real desire for the information and hopefully enough volunteers would be willing to help with the transcription. Even if it isn't finished, something is better than nothing. The Catholic Church has never over exerted itself helping its people--and no, I am not a bigot, I went to Catholic School from K-postgraduate school. As far as the Mormons, if we don't believe in what they do with the records, nor care, it doesn't affect us. No "sin" is involved since we have neither as ked for, nor consented to, their processing our records in their church. I think the best idea is to point out to the dioceses how much money they could generate if the project were successful, the reduction of inquiries to the "incorrect" parishes, thus lightening their load, and to provide volunteers to do the job. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. **************************************See AOL's top rated recipes (http://food.aol.com/top-rated-recipes?NCID=aoltop00030000000004)