Pope Benedict XVI’s recent revision of the “Prayer for the Conversion of the Jews” in the Latin text of the 1962 Good Friday liturgy set off a wave of questioning by puzzled Catholics and anxious concern among Jewish observers. Did the revival of language calling for the conversion

What’s New? I found “A Life in Theology,” by Avery Dulles, S.J. (4/21), to be somewhat disheartening, because he is dismissive of innovation and new insights, labeling some of them as deviant. “Very few new ideas, I suspect, are true,” he says. This suggests a claustrop

John DiIulio's 'Godly Republic,' reviewed

Gigantic waves—like those that surged across the Indian Ocean in 2005 taking countless lives—are now sweeping through the poorest nations of the world. In addition to the cyclonic waves that have wrought so much destruction this month, there are waves of hunger and anger caused by the dr

Why are some Catholics not allowed to dance during the liturgy?

How does the future of Catholicism in America appear to be shaping? Let us look at the facts. Immigration, the constant source hitherto of Catholic increase, has been cut down from the wide torrential river which it was before the Great War to an insignificant trickle. Mere numerical increase of the

Martha Nussbaum's 'Liberty of Conscience,' reviewed

The Information Age has been eclipsed by instantaneous infotainment

Deep Sadness Over Destruction in Myanmar Pope Benedict XVI expressed deep sadness and offered “heartfelt sympathy” after hearing news of “the tragic aftermath” of Cyclone Nargis, which killed tens of thousands in Myanmar. News agencies reported May 6 that more than 22,000 peo

Over the past few weeks I ve heard three stories about the recent papal visit that I ve found especially moving First The visit of Pope Benedict XVI with Cardinal Avery Dulles S J who has been ailing in a private meeting in Cardinal Egan s suite in St Joseph s Seminary Dunwoodi

There are some odd rules in the land of publishing For example if you blurb a book that is write a few sentences of praise for the back cover or for advertisements you can t review it Strange I know Or if you have some sort of professional connection to the author when you re r

Two things are immediately brought to mind by the Gospel reading for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity John 3 16-18 One is the ubiquity of John 3 16 amongst evangelical Christians a key verse in the Four Spiritual Laws see Law 1 at http www godlovestheworld com I grew up with this ver

The politics of abortion took an especially nasty and bizarre turn this past week when conservative Catholic writer and law professor Doug Kmiec revealed that he had recently been denied communion because of his public endorsement of Barack Obama s candidacy Thus as in 2004 some conservative

Cambridge MA One of the things that most attracts people to yoga I think is that it is wholesome challenging and able to bring a deep sense of well-being to body mind and spirit -- all without seeming to impose an alien worship on the practitioner Even in the ancient Indian traditions an

Back when it looked like Obama had the nomination in hand in February I nominated Sen Jim Webb as the best Veep choice After hearing from readers I also wrote about some other options including Virginia Governor Tim Kaine and General Anthony Zinni Since February Hillary Clinton s resilience

In the latest issue of The New Republic an article by Steven Pinker the Johnstone Professor of Psychology at Harvard attacks the concept of human dignity one of the central ideas of Catholic social teaching indeed of contemporary Catholic moral theology His point seems to be that dignity

We will continue the examination of abortion politics this year in the next few days But the results from last night s election were so stunning we need to shine a spotlight on them this morning No not West Virginia It should surprise no one that Clinton with 100 name recognition and a st

There have been eight presidential elections since Roe and five of them have been won by Republicans who opposed the decision and ran as pro-life candidates They held out the prospect of appointing conservative judges to the Supreme Court who would reverse the decision Pro-life marchers make thei