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Hillaire Belloc, an English Catholic writer from the first half of the last century, once remarked apropos of Catholic leadership that any organization whose leadership was guilty of such knavish imbecility must have the special protection of God. As we ride the turbulent waves of the latest reprise
News
Bishop Gregory Says Bishops Will Hear, Pray With Victims in DallasWhen the U.S. bishops meet in Dallas from June 13 to 15 to develop a national policy on clergy sexual abuse of minors, there will be “direct participation by some who have been directly harmed by a cleric,” said Bishop Wil
Of Many Things
Not being a television fan, on free evenings I tune in to some classical music on National Public Radio. The music serves as background for reading. Early in the morning, I turn on the radio again for the news in Spanish as part of my efforts to learn that language.As a child, however, listening to
Letters
Compassion
You’ve done something wrong, repented and have spent the following years, even decades, in faithful, compassionate service to others. Then, without warning, you’re placed on extended medical leave, and your calling is gone overnight (4/22). The resultant trauma is mind-boggling.
We need to remember such priests now with a note that details their kindnesses to us and ours. We need to let them know how their counsel, homilies and actions have made us better people, and how, through us, this good continues in the world. As even that flawed place tells us, Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
Joan Huber Berardinelli
Editorials
Expectations are high for the spring meeting of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in Dallas, Tex. Priests, bishops and laity hope that the meeting will resolve the credibility crisis that has afflicted the church since the latest round of sexual abuse scandals exploded in Boston. The
Books
In The Mercy Factory Christopher J Einolf offers a gripping firsthand account of the challenges terror and exhilaration of representing political asylum-seekers The book vividly captures the work rsquo s life-and-death intensity Like many charitable legal service providers in the field Einolf
I can hear someone who reads my article “Does God Communicate With Me?” (Am., 12/3/01) asking, perhaps with some pique: “You tell me to pay attention to my experience as the privileged place where God communicates with me. But how do I know it is God who is communicating with me? C
Of Many Things
Autobiographies of people who have struggled with life’s adversities have long been among my favorite kinds of reading. This is especially true of those with a religious dimension that underscores the author’s reliance on God. One such account I recently re-read was the autobiography of
Books
This is the first book I ever reviewed which I have not only read but prayed overand listened to on a CD the book comes with a CD spoken by the actor Martin Sheen Kennedy a gifted even charismatic pastor and longtime chaplain in jails had earlier done specialized training in the practice of s
Letters
New Directions
Many, many thanks for your honest and forthright consideration of the current horrible scandal. The entire April 1 issue was the best I have seen in 40 years of subscribing. I am sharing it with my friends in our parish, and I expect it to become thoroughly worn out in its labor of love. Thanks too for the attitude of hope and new directions that the articles contain.
Robert F. Hanlon
Editorials
The World Health Organization has reported that every year, 14 million people die of treatable infectious diseases. Most of these deaths occur in the developing world, and most have one primary causelack of the drugs needed to cure these illnesses, which are common to the poorest nations. The drugs
If you know any young adults in their late teens or early 20’s, or if you have young adult children yourself, you may be shocked by what they consider cool these days. I am not referring to anything scandalous, but rather to their appreciation for retro popular culture. The music of the 1970&r
Arts & CultureBooks
Robert King a retired philosophy and religion professor and academic dean, discovered only late in his academic career the contemplative dimension of Christianity
Faith in Focus
I walked across the deck of the pool at Flick Park, one of the public pools in Glenview, the embryonic suburb north of Chicago where I spent the first 18 years of my life. Little children splashed their way through the kiddie pool on my right. I was there with some friends headed for the water slide
When the history of American higher education is written, scholars will surely remark on the phenomenal proliferation of Catholic universities since the middle of the 20th century. To some extent, these universities are still finding their way in relation to the church and the secular society in whi
The Word
Though it celebrates the most profound mystery of the Christian faith this feast presents a great challenge to all Christians especially on a Sunday morning in May The traditional formulation of the doctrine ldquo three persons in one God rdquo is puzzling to contemporary people for whom per
News
Cardinal Law Gives Deposition in Civil Suit Against ArchdioceseCardinal Bernard F. Law was interrogated under oath on May 8 by a lawyer representing 86 people who have filed suit against him and the Archdiocese of Boston, alleging that he was negligent in supervising John J. Geoghan when Geoghan was
Books
Although she died at age 39 the Catholic writer Flannery O rsquo Connor left a literary legacy that secures her place as a major figure in 20th-century literature In this carefully researched well-written study of her fiction George A Kilcourse departs from the usual realm of literary criticism
Speaking to the higher education community at Santa Clara University in October 2000, Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, S.J., the superior general of the Jesuits, could have been anticipating the tectonic shift that the events of Sept. 11 would cause when he gave a new challenge to all Jesuit colleges and univ
Columns
The departure of a White House staff member, even one who is said to be a president’s alter-ego, rarely inspires a raft of cultural commentary. But when Karen Hughes, President George W. Bush’s top advisor, announced in late April that she would be returning to her home state of Texas wi