John Thavis offers a highly readable glimpse into the power structure of the Vatican.

ldquo There are innumerable books about Jesus rdquo So begins the preface of Gerhard Lohfink rsquo s volume Jesus of Nazareth translated from the German original So why another Jesus book In the first place Lohfink contends that every generation must encounter Jesus anew Even more pressing

Miguel Diaz, the former Vatican ambassador, writes on the Holy See in a globalized world.

Last summer the Pentagon approved tours of the detention operations in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, for only a few reporters. America had access from July 15-19, 2013. Luke Hansen, S.J., an associate editor, toured Camps Five and Six (where most of the detainees are held), the detainee library,

A Feb. 21 decision by German bishops to allow emergency contraception to be administered to victims of sexual assault was a surprise to many Catholics, who saw it perhaps as an opening in the church’s monolithic rejection of contraception. They may have been further surprised when church offic

nbsp A step back My focus is primarily on Catholic sources for the little news there is early in the week For those of us who are most nbsp intensely interested there are a number of small but significant details But even more there is confirmation that some of the issued raised in the genera

I am grateful for the clarity of Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl’s analysis of the role of bishops and theologians in the crucial task of the new evangelization (“The Noble Enterprise,” 2/4).It contextualizes their respective urgent tasks within the larger context of (re)evangelization of cultures and peoples as the church’s primary mission: to make Jesus Christ known.

We have a pope … concept. Amid all our talk about how the problems have weighed on Benedict and embarrassed so many church leaders and aside from the speculation about front-runners to replace the pontiff emeritus, the discussion also turns to the kind of papacy that is needed next. Commonweal’s new issue has some perspective and some concepts. Peter Steinfels, former editor of the magazine and former religion writer for the New York Times writes that Benedict has saved the church from a “prolonged period of disarray” and humanized the papacy with his resignation. His successor -- Pope Novus, Steinfels dubs him – should administer shock therapy to the church, setting a term on the papacy, reforming the process of choosing a successor, embarking on a huge fund-raising program to enable the work of the church, and, most of all, preaching the paschal mystery, the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

According to the 1996 constitution Universi Dominici Gregis (“Of the Lord’s Whole Flock”), at the first general congregation, the cardinals are given a copy of the constitution and can raise questions about the meaning and implementation of its rules. The part of the constitution regarding the vacancy of the Apostolic See must also be read aloud. This is 3,500-words of tedious prose or 3,100 words if they drop the chapter on papal funerals. The cardinals must swear an oath on the Gospels to observe the constitution’s rules and to maintain secrecy.

Last year I spent some time reading the powerful book The Night of the Confessor by nbsp the Czech Roman Catholic priest Tomas Halik His readings of the Gospel in light of the Church today moved me to write four blog posts at Bible Junkies I reproduce one of those posts here Church as quot Commu

Cambridge, MA. The next section of the second chapter of the Yoga Sutras is the famous account of the eight-limbs (asta anga) of yoga, a famed list that is most often used to structure any account of yoga. Contrasted with some of the more subtle points I had to deal with in my previous entries in this series (one, two, three) this is a list that seems rather more easily useful in Lent, particularly if we think of Lent as a time when we are to do things that inculcate focus and discipline.

I read with interest the New York Times opinion piece by Paul Elie, “Give Up Your Pew for Lent.” Elie’s article comes a day after another provocative op-ed in thesame paper by Hans Küng, one of the last active theological experts of Vatican II who explores the possibility of “A Vatican Spring.”

Al sureste de Roma se alza la pequeña iglesia de Santa María in Palmis, más conocida como la iglesia del Domine Quo Vadis. El nombre lo toma de una vieja leyenda que narra el encuentro de san Pedro con Cristo cuando el apóstol trataba de huir de la persecución en Roma. “Señor, ¿ad

In the October 20, 1928 issue of America, the editors of the magazine inaugurated the Catholic Book Club with the following notice:[T]he Catholic Book announces that it has selected “The Way It Was with Them” by Peadar O’Donnell, as the outstanding Catholic novel of the month. This

Today marks the relaunch of the Catholic Book Club a literary enterprise originally begun by the editors of America in 1928 In his introduction to the new club Kevin Spinale S J sketches the history and goals of the Catholic Book Club and what it can offer to readers today On Friday March 22

In his first night as pontiff emeritus, the Vatican says, Benedict slept peacefully. Perhaps not everyone else has. The cardinals have set their first General Congregation for Monday, March 4, not as some mistakenly wrote, to begin the conclave, but to consider the housekeeping tasks of the sede vacante and possibly to set a date for the conclave to begin.

When the great wooden doors of the papal residence at Castel Gondolfo closed Thursday evening, the pontificate of Benedict XVI was complete. No one occupies the See of Peter. Sede vacante. Josef Ratzinger, the emeritus Bishop of Rome, bid pilgrims in the palace courtyard "Buona notte," and entered a period of well-deserved retirement. The rounds of farewells are ended. The decision of when to begin the conclave to elect the next pope will not be taken until early next week. It is time for the church to take a rest too, to turn a deaf ear to speculation, refuse to be drawn into gossip and listen for the whispers of the Spirit.

I want to get this into print before the cardinals go into the conclave because this might help them in their decisions Last night I stayed up late reading Karl Rahner rsquo s 1984 essay ldquo Dream of the Church rdquo in which he is allowed to eavesdrop on a Vatican ecumenical meeting during wh