Inhuman conditions in Gaza; a change, and a chance, in Russia

William F. Buckley Jr.’s death prompted a wave of tributes, even from some of his ideological foes, for the tenor of the debates he orchestrated on his longtime television program, “Firing Line.” Over the years, Buckley played host to hundreds of political figures, writers, thinker

Brazil experienced an economic boom in the late 1960s. With its gross national product growing handsomely at a rate of 7 percent to 8 percent, Brazil was praised by many development economists as an example of diversified, investment-led prosperity. But while the industries of Rio de Janeiro and Sã

Geza Vermes' 'The Resurrection,' reviewed

Christians had been fleeing Iraq for years before the U.S. invasion in 2003. The ancient Assyrian Church of the East saw four-fifths of its members emigrate before 2000 and its ancient patriarchate transferred to Chicago. The government of Saddam Hussein persecuted the Assyrians because of their res

Pope Benedict and Peter's proclamation

Our old maple is half dead,

Luke chose to present three stories in his Resurrection chapter 24 nbsp The middle one has to do with the two disciples who are leaving Jerusalem because they no longer believe Jesus to have been anyone but a prophet a good man but now permanently dead nbsp Two moments of the story are emphasiz

After the sabbath as the first day of the week was dawning Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb And behold there was a great earthquake for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven approached rolled back the stone and sat upon it His appearance was like lightning and

Enough the Resurrection A heart s-clarion Away grief s gasping joyless days dejection Across my foundering deck shone A beacon an eternal beam Flesh fade and mortal trash Fall to the residuary worm world s wildfire leave but ash In a flash at a trumpet crash I am all at once w

Living in today’s world, doesn’t the period from Thursday to Sunday seem to us, and to most people, like four days, rather than three?

Word has reached us that Jon Hassler has died at his home in Collegeville Minn at the age of 74 One of the great novelists of our time his books including North of Hope Staggerford Dear James and Grand Opening examined with infinite compassion the lives of the re

The wonderful British actor Paul Scofield has died I first saw A Man for All Seasons in high school and was mesmerized by it I haven t seen watched in years but reading a few lines from Robert Bolt s screenplay brought the scenes vividly to life Here s Thomas talking to his daughter M

It would be difficult to conjure up a more offensive tirade to ethnic Catholic ears than the one Barack Obama s pastor delivered after 9 11 about chickens coming home to roost Catholics do not have a monopoly on patriotism by any means but patriotism has a monopoly on the American Catholic mind

Sending out hundreds of Easter cards this year Attending way too many Easter parties Doing some last-minute shopping for gifts to place under your Easter tree Getting tired of all those Easter-themed specials on television I didn t think so How does Easter resist the commercialism tha

The New Deal Coalition drew the adherence of Catholics because it overlapped so obviously with the dominant themes in Catholic teachings about social justice Msgr John A Ryan who headed the Social Action Department of the Bishops Conference was so devoted to FDR and his programs that he earne

It was just a few weeks ago that I blogged about this but I wanted to celebrate today March 18 the 50th anniversary of a great epiphany that changed the course of Thomas Merton s life After years of feeling separate from other men and women as a result of his choosing to live a monastic

Next month Pope Benedict XVI will address the United Nations and we can expect him to denounce the Iraq War in very explicit terms The press will recall that Pope John Paul II warned against the unintended consequences of the use of force before the war No one would call either of these two popes