Sisters in Mercy
More than 80 years ago, the British historian Lytton Strachey (1880-1932) made a name for himself by writing short biographies that debunked their subjects, but did so with elegance and wit. He combined the style of a minor Evelyn Waugh with the slant of a demolition expert like Robert Caro, whose s
Why Do You Pray?
Often people ask, Why do you pray? In all honesty, at one time I prayed because I was a Jesuit. In other words, my answer was, I’m supposed to pray. Prayer was an obligation and, to be frank, a burden. At times I have prayed in order to placate Godto get God off my back,…
Carrots, Sticks and Children: A Revolution in Drug Policy
For the first time in the nation’s various wars on drugs, the scientific, political and spiritual stars are aligned for a revolution to balance and strengthen all four legs of this country’s effort to tackle substance abuse and addiction: research, prevention, treatment and law enforceme
Of Many Things
Of Many Things
Not long ago I stumbled upon a book by the late Bruce Chatwin, called What Am I Doing Here, a collection of essays about the most unlikely topics: North African politics, art curation, the experience of nomadic peoples, Peruvian archeology and the like, connected only by a single strand—Mr. Ch
Letters
Letters
Misleading Title
With regard to Cardinal Walter Kasper’s Friendly Reply’ to Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (4/23), the title on your cover is misleading, since Walter Kasper wrote and published the article in German, not as a cardinal but as a bishop, in 2000. More importantly, the English translator has taken considerable liberties in sharpening the…
Editorials
Hate Crimes
Hate crimes—offenses stemming from hatred of persons based on their race, religion, ethnicity or sexual orientation—continue to be an affront to the national conscience. Their incidence among some groups, moreover, has been rising. Such is the case with Asian Americans. Margaret Fung, ex
Faith in Focus
Loving Heart
I have a friend who still believes in
Books
Francesco in Tableaux Vivant
In novels such as Mary Reilly and Italian Fever Valerie Martin made her reputation balancing historical locations and characters with the social detail that we expect from comedies of manners She has excelled in tracing how undercurrents of emotion become visible flirting with the Gothic traditi
Bureaucrat, Spare That Book!
In our Amazon com Borders rsquo n rsquo Barnes amp Noble world we non-academics at least no longer pay much attention to libraries When was the last time you got worked up over anything connected with a library shortened hours confusing online catalogues Well for many Americans all that
The Word
God For Us
Homilists often cringe when faced with the prospect of preaching on Trinity Sunday It is the only feast that seems to be named after a doctrine and many of a certain generation were taught that it was a mysterium stricte dictum that is totally beyond human comprehension and expressible only thro
You Really Believe that?
Dating from the Middle Ages this feast seems to duplicate the liturgy of Holy Thursday but also looks forward to the weekly eucharistic celebrations of ordinary time It is often celebrated with a festive procession which can symbolize our need for the Eucharist in our own pilgrimage Three themes
Columns
A Fierce Love
When I asked my friend’s little daughter what her dad enjoyed doing in his spare time, she didn’t miss a beat. Anything to do with me, she beamed. I rejoiced for her, of course, but I also felt a stinging regret. My dad’s free time rarely included his two daughters. And although he
News
Signs of the Times
Consistory of Cardinals Meets with PopeIn the largest meeting of its kind ever held at the Vatican, more than 150 cardinals joined Pope John Paul II to discuss questions of collegiality, dialogue and evangelization in the church. The pope opened the consistory, which met from May 21 to 24, with a pr
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