Dry Bones Rattling is a study of the community-organizing work of the Industrial Areas Foundation I A F in Texas and the Southwest The title comes from the story of Ezekiel in the valley of the dry bones the broken and dispirited community of Israel As Ezekiel prophesied the bones rattled and

Whether we want them or not, birthdays roll around once a year on the very same day. They serve as signposts for our journey through life—or, as some might term them, mortality markers. At America House we celebrate birthdays for staff and community members on the fourth Thursday of each month

Human Rights Lawyer in Mexico Shot DeadA former nun who was one of Mexico’s leading human rights lawyers was shot dead in Mexico City on Oct. 19 in what authorities were calling a politically motivated killing. Digna Ochoa Placido, head of the legal defense department at Jesuit-run Miguel Augu

Attendance at church on Sunday is significantly down from what it was years ago. The absence of so many, especially young people, indicates that the liturgy they experience is too often out of touch. They are used to an interactive, media-saturated environment at work and at play, yet they come to c

No lover of film could dislike this book No one will read it cover to cover at least at one sitting but you can take long ambles in it and come away deeply refreshed and richly informed Searching for John Ford is well researched and well written This is no small feat for often these two traits

The country was in an uproar. Hidden somewhere in the midst of the civilian population, indeed, in the midst of the capital itselfthe capital of the strongest nation in the worldwere young men armed with grievances and bombs. They had entered the country legally and were organized in small cells des

At his 80th birthday party last year, celebrated with dozens of friends in the garden of his home in northwestern Connecticut, Isaac Stern asked me to sit next to him at dinner. Rarely have I felt so honored. His luminous personality represented to me the perfect combination of a monumentally succes

A case currently before the California Supreme Court, Catholic Charities of Sacramento Inc. v. The Superior Court of Sacramento County (Department of Managed Health Care et al.), deals with that state’s Women’s Contraception Equity Act of 1999. It is attracting a good deal of attention a

Laurence Sterne was a novelist a clergyman and briefly a farmer in the rough-and-tumble 18th century an era when the remedy for cattle plague was thought to be a pint of gin for the cattle not for the beleaguered farmer In his letters sermons and above all in his comic masterpiece The Life a

Letters to the Editor Real CollegialityFor the last five years I have served with the presbyterate described by the Rev. James F. Garneau in “More Priestly Fraternity” (10/22). The priests of Raleigh are uncommonly united, centrist and admirable for their dedication in the swirl of explo

Catholics contribute less money to their parish than the members of nearly any other church in the United States. This has been confirmed by every study of religious giving in the last 15 years. In fact, the general rule of thumb is that the typical Catholic household contributes about half as much

In the Gospel of John (20:19-23) Jesus appeared to his fearful disciples after the resurrection and uttered the words “Peace be with you.” He then showed the disciples his hands and his side. In this account of the resurrection, Jesus connected the experience of peace or shalom with an a

Absolute PacifismStephen T. Krupa, S.J., is right to emphasize Dorothy Day’s absolute pacifism, to which she held even during World War II (“Celebrating Dorothy Day,” 8/27). But I’m not sure that the pacifism of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. also deserve that char

I was worried about associating with the Catholics, confides a woman at our monthly community meal. But this pasta is good! She asks me to wrap up a plate to go, for her friend next door. She leaves with a box of groceries, two blankets and a stylish red winter jacket.We are here each month to offer

You Americans I was once reprimanded in Paris have little spirituality todayyou have only psychology Americans should not dismiss this scolding too quickly Kevin Gillespie rsquo s informal history of American Catholics and their embrace of psychology helps to put this issue in some perspective O

This past June, the U.S. bishops tightened up the ethical guidelines that govern the operation of Catholic health facilities around the country. The revised guidelines require Catholic hospitals to place greater distance between themselves and the affiliate organizations offering sterilization servi

The monstrous terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 have prodded the nation to reexamine itself. As America races to combat agents of global terrorism, particularly fundamentalist Islamic extremists, decision makers should proceed prudently so as to build the requisite broad coalition at home and abroad. A

According to Archbishop Tarcisio Bertone Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith it may be heretical to hold that church teaching can learn from experience If so this collection of essays is filled with heresy In the Vatican approach one begins with Catholic teaching Exper