Reactions to my Ethics Notebook column on leaving the Democratic Party to become an Independent reminded me how volatile discussions can become when they meld the world of politics with the moral life. I’ve received some strong comments from both wings of the spectrum. How could you ever have
As a Catholic and a retired journalist, I feel shame when I read about the latest sex scandal involving my church. I am also ashamed of my former profession. I spent 40 years as a reporter and editor with wire services, a career that encompassed newspapers, radio and television. I don’t plan t
In the Philippines, we have a Muslim minority living together with a Christian majority. One Indonesian bishop explained his country’s situation to me in this way: “The manner in which you majority Christians deal with the minority Muslims in the Philippines will be the way the majority
One afternoon in the late 1940’s, the eighth-grade classroom in Our Lady of Lourdes elementary school in Brooklyn was disrupted by the entrance of five or six boys from the local public school. They were part of a released time program that allowed public school children to attend religion cla
The name Kateri Tekakwitha may not strike chords of recognition in the minds of many readers, nor did it in mine until I made a retreat this past summer at the Shrine of the North American Martyrs in Auriesville, N.Y. The shrine is dedicated primarily to eight French Jesuits who came to evangelize w
Protecting
I commend you on the most timely and relevant editorial on domestic violence (11/18). My experience is that one of the best-kept secrets in the Catholic Church is the bishops’ document When I Called for Help: A Pastoral Response to Domestic Violence Against Women.
The eight million Haitians who share the Caribbean Island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic have the unwelcome distinction of populating the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. It is also a country that has endured for two centuries a series of governments inept and oppressive in vary