Sexuality, Spirituality and the Song of Songs’
Only through the body does the way, the ascent to the life of blessedness, lie open to us.- St. Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermons on the Song of SongsThe Song of Songs has long held a privileged place in the mystical theology and monastic tradition of the church. Commentary on this erotically charg
Parent Power
The 10th annual survey of 12- to 17-year-olds by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University (CASA) has a loud and clear message: Parents, if you want to raise drug-free kids, you cannot outsource your responsibility to their schools or law enforcement. The odds are t
Human Rights in Catholic Thought
Over the past half-century, hopes that human rights could become truly effective standards of international behavior have risen and fallen like the tides. When the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights was proclaimed in 1948, many saw it as a genuine commitment to “never again&r
Advice and Consent
Only the President of the United States, according to the U.S. Constitution, can nominate persons to the federal judiciary and appoint such persons, with the advice and consent of the Senate. The discussions that took place at the Constitutional Convention in the summer of 1787 make it clear that th
Of Many Things
Of Many Things
"A tamale, please, and a cup of atole,” I said to the Mexican woman on East 116th Street, in the heart of Spanish Harlem. It was 7:45 a.m. on a weekday morning, and people were headed toward the subway to get to work. The woman was standing beneath a blue and white umbrella that shielded
Letters
Letters
Restorative Justice
Reading Of Many Things by George M. Anderson, S.J., in the October 10 issue was an uplifting and enjoyable experience. Not only was the human success story of Jos in overcoming his past problems and bad experiences heartwarming; it also offered a good example of peacemaking/humanistic criminology in action. Here we see restorative justice…
Editorials
Election Reform
Election reform is needed in the United States on several levels, both because of inequities in the present system and because of low voter turnoutone of the lowest in the world. The period from 1960 to 2000 marked a long decline: whereas 65 percent of the adult population voted in the 1960 presiden
Faith in Focus
Challenge and Opportunity
For someone who came onto the world stage over 26 years ago as a vibrant and active runner, swimmer and skier, Pope John Paul II’s suffering throughout his almost 85 years of life is especially memorable. Many of us, at difficult times in our lives, identified with him. His intense suffering i
Wait til Next Year!
The other day I asked a friend of mine, an old-timer and a longtime baseball fan, if he remembered the 1955 World Series. He thought a moment, and said: “Oh, yeah, wasn’t that a Dodger-Yankee series?” Yes, it was. But 1955 was special.
Books
Go and Make Disciples
A friend reports the story of a woman widowed from a Catholic husband with two small children Honoring her pledge to raise her children as Catholics she inquired whether she too might become a Catholic But she was discouraged from pursuing her interest by the indifference of the two priests she
Man on the Run
For its ambitious scope the grace and beauty of its language and its compelling storytelling Cormac McCarthy rsquo s Border Trilogy – nbsp All the Pretty Horses The Crossing and Cities of the Plain – nbsp was a major literary achievement in American letters in the latter part of the 20th century
The Paths Less Trod?
Despite its title this book is not about controversial displays of the Ten Commandments in public buildings This issue is not even mentioned Rather Chris Hedges focuses on the life-giving force of the Ten Commandments in our lives as individuals and as a country The commandments are guideposts
The Word
It’s About Time!
We are an impatient people and the advantages of the electronic age have only exacerbated this We have fast food instant replay and news bites We become anxious when we have to stand in line at a checkout counter and we complain when a homily is more than 10 minutes long I know people who…
Columns
Wanting It Both Ways
While searching recently for a colorful quote about relations between church and state, I turned to a man who knew a thing or two about the subject: John Hughes, known to critics and admirers alike as Dagger John. Hughes, as most readers will know, was the bishop and then archbishop of New York from
Faith
Wait til Next Year!
The other day I asked a friend of mine, an old-timer and a longtime baseball fan, if he remembered the 1955 World Series. He thought a moment, and said: “Oh, yeah, wasn’t that a Dodger-Yankee series?” Yes, it was. But 1955 was special.
News
Signs of the Times
CARA Honors Sister Katarina Schuth for Research on Catholic SeminariesThe Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate honored Katarina Schuth, O.S.F., on Oct. 5 for her extensive research on U.S. Catholic seminaries. Researchers must report their findings with wisdom and accuracy and avoid being c
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