Of Many Things
Why we published an essay sympathetic to communism
You should not assume that America’s editorial position on communism has changed very much. It has not, Matt Malone, S.J. writes. What has also not changed is our willingness to hear views with which we may disagree but that we nonetheless think are worth hearing.
Your Take
Looking for summer reading? Here are some recommendations from America readers
In June, America published online summer reading recommendations from members of our editorial staff. Given that we have the smartest readers in publishing, it felt fitting that we ask for their recommendations, too. Below you will find a sample of suggestions from our staff, newsletter readers and members of our Catholic Book Club and Jesuitical Facebook…
Editorials
The Editors: Long-term care upholds the dignity of all Americans, caregivers included
Providing for long-term care helps not only older Americans but also the millions of family members who today act as unpaid caregivers, often at a high emotional and financial cost, as well as professional in-home aides.
Republicans have a constitutional duty to condemn Trump’s racist attacks
The Editors: These comments need to be called out as racist, xenophobic and sexist.
Short Take
Latin is not just for encyclicals. For all Catholics, it is our living history.
Latin is often seen as an outdated tradition, but language student Grace Spiewak writes that it can foster pride in our global church, reminding us of our unique and complicated history.
Dispatches
Can the church do more to defend undocumented people?
Across the nation, bishops and other church leaders have spoken out against Trump administration asylum, detention and immigration policies. Many dioceses have mobilized to provide services for those under threat. But some Catholics worry the overall church response has been too muted, given the gravity of the crisis.
Infographic: Border crossings and the immigration court backlog
Since he began his campaign for national office in 2015, President Trump has repeatedly referred to a “crisis” at the U.S.-Mexico border, but the numbers have been less consistent.
In Eritrea the cost of speaking up may be nation’s Catholic health care network
On June 12, Eritrean authorities closed all 22 of the nation’s church-run health care facilities.
Who gets to be Brazil’s patron of education under Bolsonaro? Paulo Freire or a Jesuit saint?
Allies of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro want to strip Paulo Freire of his patronage of Brazilian education in favor of a Jesuit saint. But he did not count on one thing: the opposition of Brazilian Jesuits.
GoodNews
What one Kansas church did to wipe out medical debt, loaves and fishes style
A Wichita, Kan., church discovered that it could wipe out $2.2 million in debt not only for neighbors in the Wichita area but for every Kansan facing imminent insolvency because of medical expenses.
Features
The Catholic Case for Communism
What Catholics (still) don’t understand about communism.
Is Francis our first charismatic pope?
Francis may not pray in tongues, writes Austen Ivereigh, but no pope has ever identified as closely with the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, nor been so keen to move it front and center of the church.
Faith in Focus
Why a happily married father of six became a monk (for a month)
I am middle-aged, happily married and the father of six children. Thankfully, the monastic guest program at Mepkin Abbey, a Trappist monastery in South Carolina, is open to all.
Ideas
What do millennials want from religion? Three shows have the answer.
“Hadestown,” “The Good Place” and “Fleabag” tackle life’s big questions.
Books
Review: A tragic story of ambition and despair
“An Orchestra of Minorities” is a profoundly tragic story of ambition and despair and how both come from the struggle to love.
Review: Melinda Gates and her struggles with the Catholic Church
Melinda Gates’s new book is not an attack on Catholicism but an honest accounting of how she came to be in conflict with the church while living her faith.
Review: 13 ‘misfits’ who spoke truth to power
13 stories, each a mini-biography of one of those great souls whose faith in Jesus inspired and necessitated and sustained their work toward a more righteous world.
Review: A lifetime of studying the three great monotheistic faiths
Patrick Ryan, S.J., has produced a book that is a word of culmination and ratification. It is a kind of extended amen at the end of a long life of scholarly faith and faithful scholarship.
Film
Review: Not every Christian in Oklahoma is Republican (but it’s close)
“American Heretics: The Politics of the Gospel” is about like-minded liberal Christians joining forces in a ruthlessly Republican landscape where people talk more religion than they practice.
Television
‘Good Omens’ review: Angel and demon, best friends forever
The Amazon series is based on the much-beloved fantasy novel by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett.
Poetry
Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
You knew the names of other people’s fears because you / had plenty of your own.
The Word
Encountering God offers peace. It can also be disruptive.
Every heart turned to Christ brings a little more of the fiery divine presence into the world.
Everything we have is temporary
Luke reminds us that everything we have is temporary and that we will have to account for ourselves when we meet Christ.
Last Take
Cyntoia Brown and how the U.S. criminal justice system fails black women and girls
Cyntoia Brown was 16 years old when she was charged as an adult and convicted of premeditated first-degree murder, felony murder and “especially aggravated robbery.”
Faith
Encountering God offers peace. It can also be disruptive.
Every heart turned to Christ brings a little more of the fiery divine presence into the world.
Everything we have is temporary
Luke reminds us that everything we have is temporary and that we will have to account for ourselves when we meet Christ.
What one Kansas church did to wipe out medical debt, loaves and fishes style
A Wichita, Kan., church discovered that it could wipe out $2.2 million in debt not only for neighbors in the Wichita area but for every Kansan facing imminent insolvency because of medical expenses.
The Catholic Case for Communism
What Catholics (still) don’t understand about communism.
Latin is not just for encyclicals. For all Catholics, it is our living history.
Latin is often seen as an outdated tradition, but language student Grace Spiewak writes that it can foster pride in our global church, reminding us of our unique and complicated history.
Is Francis our first charismatic pope?
Francis may not pray in tongues, writes Austen Ivereigh, but no pope has ever identified as closely with the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, nor been so keen to move it front and center of the church.
Why a happily married father of six became a monk (for a month)
I am middle-aged, happily married and the father of six children. Thankfully, the monastic guest program at Mepkin Abbey, a Trappist monastery in South Carolina, is open to all.
Politics
Faith
Culture
Vatican
Scripture
Podcasts