The clerical abuse survivor nominated by Pope Francis to sit on the new Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors said the commission needs to achieve concrete change in order to “show other survivors that the church is going to get it right.” Marie Collins, who as a 13-year-old

I have a hard time believing that the political paralysis is in anybody’s real interest.

The best way to get to know a writer you love is to visit his or her home.

The two bomb blasts near the Boston Marathon’s finish line last April were the most significant acts of terrorism on U.S. soil since Sept. 11, 2001. Other contemporary terror attacks claimed more lives than the three lost in Boston (the shooting by Nidal Malik Hasan at Fort Hood in 2009 killed

"We’d like to applaud the filmmakers for raising reading levels, in an industry where dumbing-down is the business model." Film critic John Anderson reviews 'Divergent.'

I once had a homiletics professor who said not to worry too much if it appears that members of the congregation are daydreaming during your homily. A homily, he pointed out, is not an act of persuasion. You’re not up there trying to prove some point. (Or if you are, God help the people.) A goo

I am pleased to announce that the first Bible Junkies Online Commentary has been published This book arose from my blogging and the weekly entries on the Gospel of Mark and so I see it as a special work Its genesis began not necessarily with the writing however but with some readers who began to

In the first entry in the Bible Junkies Online Commentary on Galatians I discussed introductory matters concerning the founding of the churches to the Galatians the situation when Paul wrote to them when the letter might have been written and the type of letters which Paul wrote based on the com

Of late students and I have been working through the Sermon on the Mount Line by line we 39 ve been examining some of Jesus 39 most daunting words His commands on anger retaliation divorce love for enemies -- each of these teachings uproots modern assumptions and typical thought patterns

In my most recent column I discuss my friendship with a young rabbi and a 60-something Jewish painter in Brooklyn named Archie Rand When I first met Archie he was showing his enormous work quot The 613 quot in the dilapidated warehouse he owned in Brooklyn Due to space concerns for the column

The spiritual season of Lent sometimes brings out the creativity in people In fulfilling our Lenten obligations of prayer fasting and almsgiving we try to come up with something new something more meaningful something that will change our lives I recently heard in passing of a different kind o

We rsquo re seven months from the 2014 midterms giving us time to cycle through a few dozen theories on what the election will be about The Republicans still hope to capitalize on discontent with the Affordable Care Act but TPM rsquo s Dylan Scott wonders whether this ldquo election elixir rdquo

Cape Cod MA mdash Having just spent several months on the road and becoming more acutely aware of how many interesting interfaith events are happening near and far I am happy to make this space available to Dr Anita Ray for her report on a recent interfaith gathering just outside Melbourne A

“She always butters the toast to the edges.” This Lent, make time for the simple, seemingly unnoticed acts of love and kindness.

We are the people Massimo Faggioli warned you about In his article seeking an end to the political polarization of Catholics in the United States Faggioli mentions us by name as representing the road not to follow We are accused of ldquo withdrawal nbsp from the nation-state rdquo ldquo withd

With Syrians fleeing daily, UN says the opening of yet another refugee camp is imperative.

The Quran, Islam's holy book, indicates that when a Muslim is in trouble, he should go to Christians, because they are also children of God, so Imam Omar Kobine Layama fled to the house of a Catholic archbishop."His arrival was very emotional because he arrived with only one small bag in hi

The sumptuous colors, dazzling brushwork and sheer drama in the paintings of Anders Zorn (1860-1920) earned the Swedish artist fortune and fame during the Gilded Age. But Zorn’s work and name gradually fell into obscurity outside Sweden. As a result, his brilliant body of work has not been sho

High school students build a wall to spark discussion about immigration.

Father William Rowe is back No not restored to his beloved St Mary Parish in southeast Illinois from which he was extracted by Bishop Edward Braxton for improvising parts of the prayers at Mass but back in the news in a report by Melinda Henneberger in the Washington Post and a repeat by Rober