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Books
John A. Saliba
In a period of cultural and religious change this book detects a revival of orthodoxy that offers a solution to the current religious turmoil Oden divides his treatment into two parts The first entitled ldquo The Gift of New Life rdquo deals with the present spiritual crisis in Christianity a
News
From AP, CNS, RNS, Staff and other sources
Vatican: Collapse of Regime Offers Opportunity for IraqAs Baghdad and other Iraqi cities fell to U.S.-led forces, the Vatican said the collapse of President Saddam Hussein’s regime was an opportunity for the Iraqi people and offered to help in the massive humanitarian task that lies ahead. At
Caryle Murphy
The war now being fought by U.S. military forces in Iraq means that Saddam Hussein’s murderous reign is finished. And the recent capture of several senior Al Qaeda operatives gives hope that the terrorist network’s lifespan has been considerably shortened. But these developments do not m
Editorials
The Editors
At a rally in Cleveland last July, a few days after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision upholding Cleveland’s school voucher program, President Bush remarked that when September 2002 came around, some 3.5 million children (most of them living in the shabbiest sections of big cities) would
Arts & CultureBooks
Joseph J. Feeney
Ron Hansen’s new novel is a dollop of sweet cream, an entertainment, a sip of champagne, a screwball comedy, a romp, a bauble, a love letter to Nebraska.
Columns
Ellen Rufft
I have been reflecting on dandelions lately. The reason is not merely that they are flourishing everywhere these days, but rather a conversation I overheard in a hospital gift shop recently. A little girl was asking her mother why she was buying flowers for her sick friend instead of giving her a bu
The Word
Dianne Bergant
Today is traditionally known as Good Shepherd Sunday For many of us mention of sheep conjures up the image of a warm coat or the memory of a good meal We may remember the nursery rhyme ldquo Mary had a little lamb rdquo or the television hand puppet named Lambchop but very few of us regard sh
Faith in Focus
Robert P. Maloney
About once a month here in Rome, I go to St. Peter’s and enter when the doors open at 7 a.m. It is awesome to gaze at the huge, empty basilica as the morning light filters through the windows. Lately I have found myself immediately drawn to the altar of Pope John XXIII, where an older Italian
William J. Byron
“There is no economic incentive for a parent to devote full-time care to his or her own children at home,” complained a former student whom I hadn’t seen for 15 years. He was in my office seeking help with a job search. His résumé looked good: honors graduate of Loyol
Editorials
The Editors
Let him easter in us, be a dayspring to the dimness of us, be a crimson-cresseted east,
Books
Franco Mormando
In case you have ever wondered why the facade of St Peter rsquo s Basilica in Rome seems so disproportionately and disagreeably wide in relation to its height the explanation is that the final bays on both of its sides are in fact not part of the facade itself They instead represent the lower por
FaithFaith in Focus
Paul Mariani
It is easy to overlook Joseph, much as we overlook those millions of men and women who do their work quietly and well, without the least fanfare.
Poetry
Sandra Dugruid
There have been crucifixions, too,
Politics & Society
Patrick J. Ryan, S.J.
Tensions between Jews and Christians and Muslims in Israel-Palestine and the Middle East more generally, as well as violent Christian-Muslim clashes in Indonesia, Pakistan, Sudan and Nigeria in recent months, to say nothing of the war with Iraq, have led to some disturbing stereotyping of the Islami
Letters
Our readers

More Inclusive

Since Cardinal Avery Dulles mentioned me in his article Vatican II: Substantive Teaching (3/31), I would like to make it clear that I also understand the Second Vatican Council to mean that it is only in the Catholic Church that the church of Christ continues to exist with all the institutional elements that Christ bestowed on his church. However, I have never understood subsists in to mean that it is only in the Catholic Church that the church of Christ continues to exist. If that were the case, one would have to say that in 1054 the church of Christ ceased to exist in half the Christian world. Then one could not describe the Orthodox churches as true particular churches, nor could one say that by the celebration of the Eucharist in those churches the church of God is being built up. The question at issue is whether the church of Christ is wider and more inclusive than the Catholic Church. It is not clear to me where Cardinals Ratzinger and Dulles stand on that question.

Francis A. Sullivan, S.J.

William Bole
A few years ago, a gutsy doctor named Susan Black strode into the merciless mess of Kosovo. She went there as a volunteer expert to help expand medical services in refugee camps, assisted by her trusty translator, Faza, an ethnic Albanian. After traveling with Faza for six weeks, 12 hours a day, she
Books
John R. Donahue
From the time of the Devotio Moderna to the present books offering guided meditations on Jesus have been a staple of Christian spirituality Anselm Gr n a Benedictine monk and best-selling spiritual writer in Germany and throughout Europe offers 50 short vignettes of the life and teaching of Jes
Janice Farnham
In the cold December half-light where I sat with my first cup of coffee, it caught my eye. I was intent on praying myself into a good attitude for a weekend of meetings, and saw outside my window one of many astounding ironies in midtown Manhattan. There, in the middle of a postage-stamp size conven
The Word
Dianne Bergant
We have seen the Lord 8221 Who has not longed to hear those words Or who has not longed for the experience that gave birth to the words Most of us are like Thomas in today 8217 s Gospel 8212 not that we are doubters but that our faith is based on the words of others Someone else has the exp
Sacro Monte di Crea; The finding of the empty tomb of Christ, statues by Antonio Brilla, 1889 (Wiki Commons) 
Faith
Gerald O'Collins
As Easter comes round again, many wonder how to understand the resurrection of Jesus Christ and its message for us.