Of Many Things
Trump reminds us that ‘gut feeling’ is still essential to politics
Instinct, emotion, intuition—all those elements that make politics, well, politics—still matter.
Your Take
The Letters
While capitalism “lifts all boats,” there are some “boats in the water” who do not participate or benefit in the capitalist enterprise. To whom does the surplus created by capitalism belong?
Is America great? It’s complicated.
Now that Mr. Trump is in office, we decided to ask our readers two questions about the United States with this language in mind: Is America great? And if so, what makes America great?
Editorials
La Civiltà Cattolica: 4,000 and counting
America magazine will turn 108 years old this April, but that is nothing compared to our sister publication La Civiltà Cattolica.
What hopes are there for U.S. electoral reform if Canada has given up?
Our northern neighbor is not having any more success at electoral reform.
The Political Gets Personal: Partisanship and consumerism are a dangerous mix
Deciding whether or not to #deleteUber or to boycott Ivanka is a luxury most Americans cannot afford.
Short Take
Carolyn Woo: Four ways we can strengthen humanitarian aid
The four “S’s” call us to be worthy of the privilege of serving the brothers and sisters God entrusts to our care.
Dispatches
Catholic bishops meet to discuss issues related to health care for transgender people
The number of questions from Catholic organizations to N.C.B.C.’s ethicists about transgender issues “has increased radically and surprisingly” in recent years.
Cardinal Tong: The Vatican and China could be close to a milestone agreement
One fruit of this Sino-Vatican agreement, which neither side has confirmed, will be that “from now on, there will be no more the crisis of a division between the open and underground communities in the church in China,” wrote Cardinal Tong.
Learned on the street: Chicago student finds a way out of college homelessness
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development estimates as many as 58,000 students across the United States—about one in 10—face homelessness at some point during college.
Diversity, leaky roofs and aging priests: Inside the changing U.S. Catholic Church
Diversity brings opportunity, but leaky roofs and aging priests bring challenges to American parishes.
Features
Prophetic theological work can be dangerous business
Life lived intensely in God’s love is never convenient.
Faith is strong in middle America’s small towns—but its future is uncertain.
On any given Sunday, the pews of St. Michael’s in Axtell, Kan., are filled with more than half the town’s population.
Faith in Focus
A life of service is never easy. Having autism can make it even harder.
Looking back, I find it remarkable that I believed in God to begin with. Autism is a condition that does not allow for many gray areas in one’s worldview.
Books
A fearless look at the tragedy of abortion
Perhaps the most powerful pro-choice argument rests on the claim that restrictions on abortion do not actually stop abortion from happening—they only make said abortions safer. Biemans devastates the foundations of this argument.
The ebb and flow of a life with depression
Daphne Merkin presents a realistic but uncomfortable look into her struggle with depression.
From the academy, books that think (and a few that sell)
Very few professors become best-selling authors, but it happens.
Duncan Green provides an insightful handbook for social change in “How Change Happens.”
In How Change Happens, Duncan Green lays out the intellectual groundwork necessary for social change.
Film
From goth kid to nun, a young woman returns home in “Little Sister”
“Little Sister” tells the story of Colleen, a young woman religious returning home after joining the Sisters of Mercy.
Music
What’s behind hip-hop’s religious revival?
Kanye West and Chance the Rapper are singing about Jesus on network television. What’s going on?
Theater
August Wilson will not go quietly: a review of ‘Fences’ and ‘Jitney’
Since he died in 2005, Wilson’s stature has only increased, with his name regularly appearing on annual lists of the nation’s most-produced playwrights.
The Word
The Light of New Life
In his love, Jesus sees things in us that we do not see in ourselves.
On Earth as It Is in Heaven
Without some background, the Transfiguration can be a difficult text to understand. It relies on religious ideas that were common in the first century but have since faded away. One notion that many ancient peoples shared was that gods “glowed.” Deities were refulgent with light and energy. Israel’s neighbors drew this idea from their experience…
Last Take
Fr. James Martin: Hate confession? Here’s why you should reconsider.
“If you had a bad experience with a physician, would you would never see a physician again?”
Faith
Prophetic theological work can be dangerous business
Life lived intensely in God’s love is never convenient.
The Light of New Life
In his love, Jesus sees things in us that we do not see in ourselves.
On Earth as It Is in Heaven
Without some background, the Transfiguration can be a difficult text to understand. It relies on religious ideas that were common in the first century but have since faded away. One notion that many ancient peoples shared was that gods “glowed.” Deities were refulgent with light and energy. Israel’s neighbors drew this idea from their experience…
Fr. James Martin: Hate confession? Here’s why you should reconsider.
“If you had a bad experience with a physician, would you would never see a physician again?”
La Civiltà Cattolica: 4,000 and counting
America magazine will turn 108 years old this April, but that is nothing compared to our sister publication La Civiltà Cattolica.
A life of service is never easy. Having autism can make it even harder.
Looking back, I find it remarkable that I believed in God to begin with. Autism is a condition that does not allow for many gray areas in one’s worldview.
Cardinal Tong: The Vatican and China could be close to a milestone agreement
One fruit of this Sino-Vatican agreement, which neither side has confirmed, will be that “from now on, there will be no more the crisis of a division between the open and underground communities in the church in China,” wrote Cardinal Tong.
Diversity, leaky roofs and aging priests: Inside the changing U.S. Catholic Church
Diversity brings opportunity, but leaky roofs and aging priests bring challenges to American parishes.
Faith is strong in middle America’s small towns—but its future is uncertain.
On any given Sunday, the pews of St. Michael’s in Axtell, Kan., are filled with more than half the town’s population.
Magazine
The Letters
While capitalism “lifts all boats,” there are some “boats in the water” who do not participate or benefit in the capitalist enterprise. To whom does the surplus created by capitalism belong?
Politics
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Vatican
Scripture
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