Ask a Franciscan

I am an evangelical Christian who is seriously considering conversion to Catholicism. Why do Catholics seem obsessed with Mary?

In his book The Future of the Catholic Church with Pope Francis, Garry Wills states that there is no evidence before AD 100 that there was any bishop in Rome. Is that true?

Does the Catholic Church agree with geologists about the age of the earth? Why would God create dinosaurs, have them roam the earth for millions of years and then create human beings?

To whom do bishops and dioceses report their activities? To archbishops? To cardinals? To the pope?

What happens to a Catholic bishop when he resigns? Where does he go? Does he still have a rank within the Church? What financial assistance does he receive?

What caused other Christian groups to become separate? For example, who was John Calvin and what did he teach that a denomination is sometimes called “Calvinist”?