As Daniel P Horan O F M noted earlier today Pope Francis has decided not to live in the Apostolic Palace but to remain at the Casa Santa Marta the Vatican Guest House where he stayed during the conclave and has remained since his election ldquo He is experimenting with this type of living ar

The summer I was ordained I spent a month as a substitute pastor in Kotzebue an Eskimo village in the Alaskan Arctic One of the courtesies I received from the villagers was a fifty cent admission for me and my guests to the folk dances they did for visiting tourists In return I was prompted to b

One of the many outbursts that St Francis is remembered to have exhibited during the early years of the Franciscan Order centered on the Saint 39 s concern about the stability of the friars I should point out that this was about the quot stability quot of housing not to be confused with one 3

Would a little healthy hysteria be welcome now as the latest report from the CDC indicates again another possible increase in autism in America The latest CDC survey of parent-reported ASD diagnoses shows an increase from 1 in 86 children aged 6 to 17 reported in 2007 to 1 in 50 in 2011 In this

In the first installment I set out the traditional Greco-Roman letter format and looked at the ldquo Judases rdquo and ldquo Jameses rdquo in the New Testament There seemed to be only one good option for whom the Judas Jude to whom this letter is attributed could be the Judas Jude who is the

As we have reached Palm Sunday I wanted to provide links to previous writings here on The Good Word blog and one found at the Bible Junkies blog Please also go The Word to find the most recent columns for Palm Sunday and Easter The Palm Sunday post is a reflection on how quickly our attention can

Cambridge MA Last week and in the week before I introduced the first two segments of the ldquo eight limbs rdquo astanga of yoga such as emphasize respectively moral and bodily discipline Now I take up the sixth and seventh of these limbs those dealing most directly with meditation holdin

Between last Thursday and today over 100 emails and phone calls from friends and others plus long hours scouring the press and the Internet have taught me several things about the Catholic church 1 The public mdash including the ex-Catholic public who have slammed the door leaving mdash still

Today the Catholic Book Club is discussing The Patriarch David Nasaw 39 s biography of Joseph P Kennedy In order to facilitate discussion I offer some questions here for discussion I welcome everyone to contribute answers to these questions your own questions or any reactions you have to the

If it only had a brain, one is tempted to suggest, Oz the Great and Powerful might have been as welcome as spring. Still, it is not an entirely brainless movie or completely lacking a heart. And it certainly has nerve: Positioned as the very presumptive heir to “The Wizard of Oz,” perhap

America's Web site features a range of Web-only content, from podcasts and videos, to television and film reviews and book discussions. Here are some of our favorite selections:The editors offer video reflections on the symbols of the Easter season.Veteran broadcaster and Catholic William F. Bak

Hearing these words from the Passion of Saint Luke quot Father if you are willing take this cup away from me still not my will but yours be done quot 22 42 it rsquo s difficult not to feel that we have intruded into a conversation between intimates one we have no warrant to hear Jesus ple

Since I 39 ve been getting this question a lot over the last few days here goes And for good measure another photo of two Jesuit brothers A Jesuit is a Jesuit forever from the day he enters the novitiate until his death unless he formally leaves the Society of Jesus or in religious parlanc

Just a reminder that tomorrow we will be holding an online discussion of this month 39 s Catholic Book Club selection The Patriarch The Remarkable Life and Turbulent Times of Joseph P Kennedy Kevin Spinale S J our moderator will be online tomorrow afternoon to answer your questions Here is

The Jesuit Curia has just released this great photo of Pope Francis greeting Adolfo Nicolas SJ Superior General of the Society of Jesus at the Casa Santa Marta on Sunday nbsp Father General came at the invitation of the Holy Father and promised him all the resources of the Society of Jesus

You may have seen the photograph from Associated Press photographer Michael Sohn highlighting the glow of hundreds of smartphone and tablet screens raised like candles in the night in order to film the debut of Pope Francis at Saint Peter rsquo s Basilica on March 13th In some venues this was pai

Additional archive analysis of the Vietnam War from America's editors

After the election of Pope Francis this week I spoke with my friend David Golemboski a doctoral student at Georgetown University 39 s School of Government who authored an article in the January 21-28 2013 issue of America titled quot Sill 39 Presente 39 U S Catholics Should Reconnect wi