The polarization of American politics continues to be a fertile topic for researchers with one new study suggesting that our online dating habits contribute to the red-vs -blue schism At the Mischiefs of Faction blog study co-author Casey Klofstad summarizes the findings parents pass their

In September of 2009 I left the practice of law to teach at a small almost brand new Jesuit high school in Palm Desert CA That is the simple way I might describe it now but at the time it was a career crisis I had trained to be a lawyer I loved law school and planned to be at the firm for man

Lord send out your spirit And renew the face of the earth rdquo - Psalm 104In the late 1990s as a lead-up to the new millennium my parish took part in a program called ldquo Renew 2000 quot in which the faithful who wanted to participate were assigned to small faith-sharing groups Each

You know how sometimes you find yourself slogging through a literally and figuratively Big Novel thinking “This ‘work’ is long merely for sake of acquiring the Heft of Importance”—and “I’m 400 pages into this thing but still think I’m going to cut bait

The life of a saint is like a great poem endlessly fascinating elusive of our complete grasp rich with wisdom that knows no expiration nbsp The life of St Ignatius of Loyola has that poetic quality in abundance Today we speak of Ignatian spirituality Ignatian pedagogy Ignatian prayer Ignat

Over the past week there rsquo s been a hardening consensus that the Republican majority in the U S House with or without the blessing of Speaker John Boehner will force a shutdown of the federal government as part of a last-ditch effort to stop implementation of ldquo Obamacare rdquo the Aff

As the plane approached San Pedro Sula airport in northern Honduras I saw endless rows of African palm trees A brown river snaked through the fields and lush green mountains loomed in the background I did not see any cities towns or paved roads mdash just a few housing units When we landed I

As I discussed yesterday the AFL-CIO rsquo s Constitutional Convention in LA this week began with a lot of buzz about proposals that progressive groups that were not labor organizations might be invited to affiliate with the AFL-CIO nbsp A number of union leaders expressed both practical and prin

Last year a number of critics complained that there are actually now so many good shows on television (mostly on cable) that they could no longer keep up with them all.And yet they keep on coming. Over the next few weeks in Hollywood’s small screen version of Christmas dozens of new and return

The libertarian magazine Reason released a Christmas tree of a poll on Tuesday with dozens of questions on government spending U S policy toward Syria Facebook rsquo s stewardship of personal data and other topics on which people mostly agree with the editors of Reason magazine Among the orname

Along with the outreach to alt-labor groups I discussed yesterday the AFL-CIO Convention delegates have been weighing ways to form tighter associations with progressive groups like the NAACP La Raza the Sierra Club the National Organization of Women and others In politics these organizations

The U S Catholic Bishops have felt compelled to once again step into a public relations fray and defend a venerable Catholic agency against an attack from self-appointed Catholic gadflies primarily LifeSiteNews and the nbsp Population Research Institute nbsp These often internet-based entities w

The parables of Jesus are meant to pounce, at least if we’ve truly heard them.  They’re a bit like playing with a kitten, one that surprises us with an unexpected swipe.  Each parable imparts a deeply personal lessen, but only if we enter the play.

The chairman of the U S bishops rsquo Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development urged the U S House of Representatives not to accept a proposed 40 billion in cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program SNAP formerly known as food stamps Bishop Stephen E Blaire of Stockto

The old campesino spoke calmly yet conveyed a deep sense of urgency ldquo We have been threatened rdquo he told us through an interpreter ldquo because we have defended the poorest people the land and the water rdquo In February he explained members of his village in northern Honduras he

As polls predicted Public Advocate Bill de Blasio easily won the Democratic primary for mayor of New York City on Tuesday hovering just above the 40 percent needed to avoid a run-off for the party nomination The New York Times reports that party leaders are urging William Thompson who finished s

This week witnesses thousands of trade unionists and labor activists assembling in Los Angeles for the 27th Constitutional Convention of the AFL-CIO nbsp With union membership continuing to decline the federation has been seeking new approaches to advocate for American workers nbsp The labor mov

Cape Cod MA A colleague has reminded me that 9 11 now seared into our memories as a day of tragedy and the class of civilizations is also by a longer perspective a day of hope for those committed to interreligious understanding For it was on this day in 1893 120 years ago that Swami Vivekana

There are two kinds of people in the world those who are Irish and those who wish they were At least that rsquo s how the saying goes mdash and I rsquo ve heard it quite a few times since I married an Irishman a few decades ago Most of the time I dismiss such bon mots of Irish pride for the blar

America 39 s editorial about the events of September 11 2001 published September 23 2001 Shock denial anger and depression swept the country on Sept 11 as the nation watched thousands of civilians and military people viciously murdered by terrorists Not since Pearl Harbor has the United Stat