Remembering Father Pedro Arrupe on the centennial of his birth.

Come Be My Light: The Private Writings of the Saint of Calcutta (Doubleday, $22.95) is a disturbing book, one that has become a lightning rod for commentators of every stripe, from believers to unbelievers. Can it also be read as a consoling book? I believe so, though the consolation is not “c

We must honor our soldiers before, during and after their service.

Just after the terrorist attacks on the United States on Sept 11 2001 White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer warned Americans at a press conference that we are now living in an era in which 8220 we have to watch what we say 8221 Since that declaration I have been searching for a book de

Over the years, my wife and I have developed an ear for war. After reporting from the Middle East for most of the last decade and covering the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq for The Boston Globe, I have seen and heard too much of it from too close. During one of my postings as The Globe’s bure

Thomas the Apostle needs a publicist. Even though in Johns Gospel he gives voice to the most profound statement of faith in the New Testament, My Lord and my God, the first word that comes to mind for most of us on hearing his name is doubtingdoubting Thomas. We forget his courageous response when J

First thought: man, no wonder he was so skinny.

Roman Catholics can be spotted with eyes raised to heaven overheard to give thanks that we are not like certain others fundamentalists and such When I was once engaging in that self-congratulatory behavior I was helpfully challenged by John R Donahue S J familiar to readers of America who s

'Mexican-American Catholics,' reviewed

Margaret Atwood has published over a dozen volumes of poetry While she might be more widely known as a novelist it is in her poetry that the issues dealt with in her novels are first tried out and sharpened The Door provides a foundation for many of the themes symbols and conflicts that erupt in

The Bush administration's denial of engaging in torture must be exposed.

At most medical schools in the United States, students are given a white coat during a ceremony in the first weeks after matriculation, and they are told about the role they will play and their obligation to serve others. These days medical training, both at the undergraduate and postgraduate (resid

In the middle of a muggy summer in southern Indiana, with daytime temperatures near or over 100 degrees, it is hot on our little organic vegetable farm in the Ohio River valley. And although we have central air conditioning in our home, this summer we decided not to turn it on. Why has my family ch

'The Great Catholic Reformers,' reviewed

Astronomers love to wander in the dark because it is often the darkest skies that radiate the brightest stars An award-winning astronomer and the Priest Professor of Physics at St Lawrence University in Canton N Y Aileen O 8217 Donoghue has spent years searching the heavens of the physical uni

Praying with the Quakers in Plymouth Meeting, Pa.

One of the happier aspects of the fall season in the northern hemisphere is the sudden urge we get to plant bulbs. Having just moved into a new home, with a tiny garden that is bravely trying to survive on a layer of builders’ rubble, I have to admit that this urge was accompanied by considera

Aided by the moral teaching of the church, U.S. Catholics should carefully form their consciences in order to participate in public life, according to a draft document on faith and citizenship prepared by the Administrative Committee of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and made available to A