Of Many Things
The Good News is breaking news
We are launching a new segment in Dispatches, our traditional section for news. It’s called, appropriately enough, GoodNews, and will feature stories that I hope will give you some sense of the almost miraculous things that countless people of faith do every day around the world.
Your Take
Are you in favor of legalizing marijuana?
In response to this question, 89 percent of respondents said they were in favor of the legalization of marijuana, either for medicinal purposes only (17 percent) or for both medicinal and recreational use (72 percent). Some respondents said that the medical benefits of marijuana need to be acknowledged and noted that legalization would help people…
The Letters
Changing Consciousness Re “A Call to Prayer,” by Tim Shriver (1/7): Father Thomas Keating changed the consciousness of many of us who have rested in God through “centering prayer.” His great quality of humility models for us a new way of being in our divided world. My father died last week, and I can attest…
Editorials
How should we increase accountability? Empower laypeople.
Few would deny that 2018 was an annus horribilis for the Catholic Church in the United States. As dioceses and religious orders released the names of alleged sex abusers, it became clear the scope of the scandals was far wider than most imagined or acknowledged.
The pro-life movement has always been pro-women. Our priorities should reflect that.
The priority given to Supreme Court nominations has left the movement vulnerable to being reduced to the role of supporting player within an overall conservative political agenda.
Short Take
Centuries later, Jesuit missions in South America are still strengthening communities
A new study finds higher literacy rates and income levels in the areas around former Jesuit missions in Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay.
Dispatches
A Catholic travel itinerary
Americans are journeying abroad in record numbers. Here are some of the sites across the world of particular interest to Catholic travelers.
Do we need a wall? Here’s what people on the border think.
Many people are asking: Do we need a border wall? While the Trump administration has said the wall is necessary to curb illegal immigration and drug trafficking, many faith leaders who live along the border see things differently.
Theresa May fumbles toward a no-deal Brexit
The British state continues to make preparations for the growing possibility of a no-deal exit, an outcome sufficiently plausible that it is spending large sums recruiting new staff and renting warehouse space for key supplies, such as E.U.-produced medicine, that may abruptly prove hard to come by.
Jesuit leaders respond to questions about living situations for priests accused of abuse
The nonprofit Center for Investigative Reporting reported earlier this week that at least 20 Jesuits who had been credibly accused of abuse against minors were housed at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Wash., until 2016.
GoodNews
GoodNews: The ‘extraordinary power of faith’ in Iraq
Prince Charles described how as Isis extremists advanced on the Christian town of Qaraqosh in 2014, Sister Luma “got behind the wheel of a minibus crammed full of her fellow Christians and drove the long and dangerous road to safety.”
Features
How the Catholic Church can help single mothers
Because the church has long defined marriage as central to lay Catholic identity, Catholic single mothers have sometimes stayed hidden in the shadows.
Donald Trump: the president of expressive individualism
President Trump’s triumph has revealed in stark relief how few authentic conservatives are left in our expressivist land.
Faith in Focus
A Catholic guide to your mid-life calling
There are three things you need to orient yourself in times of crisis and change, a monk told me: divine inspiration, the facts of your life and a wise witness to certify that you’re living in reality.
Vantage Point
From 1931: Modern travel is a failure
Who doesn’t love to get away? G. C. Heseltine, for one. But one might wonder if it was a question of temperament rather than the details of his journeys, because this extended screed against modern travel from the April 18, 1931, issue of America turned fairly quickly into a screed against, well, just about everything…
Books
An (incomplete) spiritual guide to running
Sagal knows what it is to run away from problems, to need to be needed, and how much can be achieved through stubborn persistence.
Review: The beautiful message of Jean Vanier
The simple lessons of Jean Vanier on humility and Christian love always bear repeating.
Time’s a’wastin’: two new books on procrastination
“Anyone can do any amount of work,” wrote the American humorist Robert Benchley, “provided it isn’t the work he is supposed to be doing at that moment.” Procrastination is an act of will, the choice to postpone what needs to be done. We are lying to ourselves when we procrastinate—yet everybody does it. For some,…
Review: Babe Ruth’s mighty hits and misses
Jane Leavy chronicles Babe Ruth’s life and times, with a heavy emphasis not only on the culture Ruth played in, but the ways he radically altered that culture, with the help of his visionary agent Christy Walsh.
Art
Martin D’Arcy and the Art of English Catholicism
The legacy of and English Jesuit and the world class collection he brought to Oxford
Film
Child poverty takes the lead role in ‘Capernaum’
Nadine Labaki’s new film is set amid the supreme chaos of current-day Beirut.
Music
Meet the Palestinian rocker writing love songs and protest anthems
Rasha Nahas: “The story I bring with me being a Palestinian artist born in Haifa.”
Poetry
The Word
The fresh, exhilarating message of Jesus’ ministry
Luke warns us: Deeper understanding of the Gospel can be disruptive.
Jesus revealed God’s kingdom was hidden in plain sight
How do you proclaim God’s promises with boldness?
Last Take
Head of 9/11 Commission on five ways to prevent the spread of terrorism
Since 2001, attacks worldwide have increased fivefold. From the Sahara Desert to cyberspace, Islamist militants continue to find innovative new ways to extend their reach.
Faith
A Catholic guide to your mid-life calling
There are three things you need to orient yourself in times of crisis and change, a monk told me: divine inspiration, the facts of your life and a wise witness to certify that you’re living in reality.
GoodNews: The ‘extraordinary power of faith’ in Iraq
Prince Charles described how as Isis extremists advanced on the Christian town of Qaraqosh in 2014, Sister Luma “got behind the wheel of a minibus crammed full of her fellow Christians and drove the long and dangerous road to safety.”
The fresh, exhilarating message of Jesus’ ministry
Luke warns us: Deeper understanding of the Gospel can be disruptive.
Jesus revealed God’s kingdom was hidden in plain sight
How do you proclaim God’s promises with boldness?
The Good News is breaking news
We are launching a new segment in Dispatches, our traditional section for news. It’s called, appropriately enough, GoodNews, and will feature stories that I hope will give you some sense of the almost miraculous things that countless people of faith do every day around the world.
How the Catholic Church can help single mothers
Because the church has long defined marriage as central to lay Catholic identity, Catholic single mothers have sometimes stayed hidden in the shadows.
A Catholic travel itinerary
Americans are journeying abroad in record numbers. Here are some of the sites across the world of particular interest to Catholic travelers.
How should we increase accountability? Empower laypeople.
Few would deny that 2018 was an annus horribilis for the Catholic Church in the United States. As dioceses and religious orders released the names of alleged sex abusers, it became clear the scope of the scandals was far wider than most imagined or acknowledged.
The pro-life movement has always been pro-women. Our priorities should reflect that.
The priority given to Supreme Court nominations has left the movement vulnerable to being reduced to the role of supporting player within an overall conservative political agenda.
Jesuit leaders respond to questions about living situations for priests accused of abuse
The nonprofit Center for Investigative Reporting reported earlier this week that at least 20 Jesuits who had been credibly accused of abuse against minors were housed at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Wash., until 2016.
Magazine
The Letters
Changing Consciousness Re “A Call to Prayer,” by Tim Shriver (1/7): Father Thomas Keating changed the consciousness of many of us who have rested in God through “centering prayer.” His great quality of humility models for us a new way of being in our divided world. My father died last week, and I can attest…
Politics
Faith
Culture
Vatican
Scripture
Podcasts