Of Many Things
The Answers, er, Questions to ‘America Jeopardy’ 2019
Did you frame your responses in the form of a question?
Your Take
After the first 2020 democratic debate, what issues do you want to hear more about?
In an online survey, America asked members of its “U.S. Politics Catholic Discussion Group” on Facebook and other readers for their thoughts on the debates.
Editorials
The Editors: Judicial oversight cannot prevent gerrymandering. It’s up to us.
Even if the Supreme Court were willing, judicial oversight would not be a panacea for gerrymandering.
Trump should lift sanctions on Iran, for both moral and diplomatic reasons.
The Editors: The United States risks engaging in an unending financial war with Iran that could slip into a military one at the slightest provocation.
Short Take
How space exploration became a wake up call on climate change
We know of at least 4,000 planets outside our solar system, writes the astronomer Samantha Lawler, but we will not be visiting any of them soon—nor do we know if any are inhabitable. Exploring space teaches us the fragility of Earth.
Dispatches
Why are so many craters on the moon named after Jesuits?
“Throughout the history of the Society, the Jesuits have been key players in astronomy,” said Robert Macke, S.J., a specialist in meteorites who works at the Vatican Observatory in Rome. Jesuit contributions to astronomy are significant enough that 34 craters on the moon and several asteroids are named after them.
Pope Francis gives Orthodox patriarch relics of St. Peter
Patriarch Bartholomew said, “Pope Francis made this grand, fraternal and historic gesture” of giving the Orthodox fragments of the relics of St. Peter.
How the Jesuits plan to appeal Indy archbishop’s decision to revoke Brebeuf’s Catholic status
The Midwest Jesuits plan to appeal a decree by Archbishop Thompson of Indianapolis that Brebeuf Jesuit High School is no longer recognized as a Catholic school after the school’s administrators refused to terminate a teacher in a same-sex marriage as requested by the archdiocese.
‘A drink of water could save a life.’ What Catholic social teaching says about the No More Deaths trial
“You don’t have to regulate your borders with cruelty and inhumanity. There’s no need for that.”
Features
What is the role of a public theologian today?
Today’s public theologians can be found working alongside the most vulnerable members of society, contributing their deep understanding of Scripture, theology, history, ethics, liturgy and ministry in the real lives of communities.
What would a chapel on the moon look like? Catholics in the ’60s had some ideas.
The November 1967 issue of Liturgical Arts presented architectural drawings, conceptual essays and theological reflections on the topic “A Chapel on the Moon: 2000 A.D.”
Faith and Reason
Pope Francis’s pro-life values probably don’t match your political categories. Here’s why.
While Pope Francis has given special consideration to what some may consider liberal life issues, he has also spoken up strongly and clearly for the more traditional prolife issues.
Faith in Focus
Why I gave up my job at NASA to become a nun
I have learned that belief is not unique to those who consider themselves religious.
Ideas
Why do Catholic priests keep popping up in sci-fi?
Science fiction writers continue to turn to religious characters, imagery and ideas to sort things out.
Books
Review: Comedian Pete Holmes’ sense of wonder comes alive in a new memoir
Pete Holmes discovers a new meaning to Christ’s words “Go and do likewise,” not as a moralistic command, but as a call to an awakening, a conversion, the practice Catholic tradition calls the “imitation of Christ.”
Review: Catholic Church architecture in the 20th century
Catherine Osborne has produced a significant study of changing tastes in the construction of American Catholic churches between 1925 and 1975.
Review: One giant leap for mankind
The lunar landing was the seminal event of a decade that began with promise and ended with sorrow.
Review: What dead animals (and novels) can teach us about live humans
Kristen Arnett’s novel is about intimacy and wanting what is forbidden, about childhood and family, about absent parents and absent lovers, and about the secondhand self-destruction that can be wrought by ignoring cries of the heart.
Music
Bruce Springsteen looks for mercy and deliverance in new album ‘Western Stars’
Springsteen has created a sprawling sonic landscape that, in its best moments, feels like the soundtrack to a film you would love to see.
Architecture
Hudson Yards’ monument to late capitalism
Part sculpture, part landmark, it is unclear what purpose the structure plays in the public sphere.
Poetry
Ghost Sounds
Come on. Come on. Come on, now. Come on.
The Word
Wealth is found in God alone
Material goods can provide the illusion of present control and future security.
The prayer that Jesus taught us
To pray as Jesus did draws our attention to the subtle evidence of God’s kingdom taking shape.
Last Take
Why the Big Bang isn’t what you think it is
The Big Bang is not a theory of the origins of the universe. In fact, we have no scientific theory of the origins of the universe.
Faith
Wealth is found in God alone
Material goods can provide the illusion of present control and future security.
The prayer that Jesus taught us
To pray as Jesus did draws our attention to the subtle evidence of God’s kingdom taking shape.
What would a chapel on the moon look like? Catholics in the ’60s had some ideas.
The November 1967 issue of Liturgical Arts presented architectural drawings, conceptual essays and theological reflections on the topic “A Chapel on the Moon: 2000 A.D.”
Why I gave up my job at NASA to become a nun
I have learned that belief is not unique to those who consider themselves religious.
Pope Francis gives Orthodox patriarch relics of St. Peter
Patriarch Bartholomew said, “Pope Francis made this grand, fraternal and historic gesture” of giving the Orthodox fragments of the relics of St. Peter.
Pope Francis’s pro-life values probably don’t match your political categories. Here’s why.
While Pope Francis has given special consideration to what some may consider liberal life issues, he has also spoken up strongly and clearly for the more traditional prolife issues.
How the Jesuits plan to appeal Indy archbishop’s decision to revoke Brebeuf’s Catholic status
The Midwest Jesuits plan to appeal a decree by Archbishop Thompson of Indianapolis that Brebeuf Jesuit High School is no longer recognized as a Catholic school after the school’s administrators refused to terminate a teacher in a same-sex marriage as requested by the archdiocese.
Politics
Faith
Culture
Vatican
Scripture
Podcasts