Magazine

Basil Pennington Dead at 74; Known Worldwide as Writer and Teacher of PrayerAbbot M. Basil Pennington, the Trappist monk known worldwide for his books and ministry on centering prayer, died on June 3 at the University of Massachusetts Memorial Medical Center in Worcester from injuries sustained in a

During his seven-and-a-half years as pastor of St. John’s Church in downtown Newark, Msgr. Jim Finnerty has met more than his fair share of unforgettable characters. For starters, there was a fellow who called himself Tony Baloney, an 80-year-old man with no known address. Then there was Mama,

A freshman came to my office to discuss his first essay assignment in my lecture course on classics of Christian literature. We had been reading Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Letters From Prison. The student wondered what the Lutheran pastor imprisoned and executed by the Nazis would have thought of t

It seems to have become commonplace lately, especially among those who try to assess the state of the world and make recommendations about the sort of leadership that is needed in the Catholic Church, to bemoan the de-Christianization of Europe, an idea the media have embellished by contrasting Old

Are North Korea and the United States moving toward the brink of war, perhaps one that would involve the use of nuclear weapons? Some experts think so. Former Defense Secretary William Perry, for one, has warned that the United States and North Korea are drifting toward war. Yet President Bush acts

The Rule of Saint Benedict states, in Chapter Three: “The reason we have said that all should be called for counsel is that the Lord often reveals to the younger what is best.” This awareness was doubtless in the mind of our own newly elected Benedict XVI when he said in his first messag

"Other than the human tragedy, this is a non-event for the energy markets,” said an energy risk manager quoted by The Wall Street Journal (3/25/04), referring to the deadly explosion at the Texas BP oil refinery that took the lives of at least 15 people, injured more than 100 others and t