nbsp We asked Daniel P Horan OFM a Franciscan author to respond to Joan Acocella 39 s long and substantive article in this week 39 s New Yorker on St Francis of Assisi nbsp Ms Acocella a superb writer looked at several books on Il Poverello and offered a reflection on his life nbsp Fa

Here is an important article on the value of Catholic education in the United States written by two people who know what they rsquo re talking about nbsp Today 39 s New York Times includes an op-ed entitled ldquo Catholic Education In Need of Salvation rdquo written by Patrick J McCloskey

Cambridge MA As readers of this blog know my main theme here is or should be interreligious dialogue And while I am not much into current events I do frequently enough write about matters that cross religious boundaries But you will also know if you rsquo ve been reading my entries over the

nbsp Two of my favorite spiritual memoirs are the magnificent works The Sacred Journey and Telling Secrets by Frederick Buechner an ordained Presbyterian minister who since 1967 has lived in and written from Vermont nbsp Buechner 39 s prose is supple his mind fertile and his way of looking a

As a member of the so-called millennial generation myself I rsquo m always interested to hear the thoughts of my contemporaries on issues of faith and culture A new e-journal Millennial offers an online home to Catholic writers in their 20s and 30s to explore a vast array of topics including po

Hurricanes do not discriminate; they simply engulf everything in their path. Sandy swallowed up my home in the West End of Long Beach, where a few feet of sand covered the streets, as if the ocean decided to reclaim its territory. As the tides receded, Sandy took with it many of our illusions and ex

nbsp As they rsquo re wont to do a recent conversation with my Mother moved from Christmas current to Christmases past We were discussing the visits of Santa Claus to our childhood home and Mom remarked ldquo We have plenty of pictures of your sister crying rather than sitting on Santa rsquo

Pope Benedict XVI’s Twitter account, @Pontifex, attracted more than a million-and-a-half followers by the end of Dec. 12, its first day active. • Justice Magazine (www.justicemagazine.org), which covers national and international issues relating to the Catholic Church’s social teach

European media are reporting that Russia and the United States are preparing a joint ultimatum to President Bashar al-Assad through the special envoy of the United Nations and the Arab League, Lakhdar Brahimi, to encourage Assad to leave power “with dignity.” Washington and Moscow report

Christians renewed an appeal to the Sri Lankan government to defend religious freedom after the nation’s minority Christian community was shocked by an attack on a Protestant church. The attack occurred on Dec. 9, in Weeraketiya, an area in the southern province of Sri Lanka. A crowd of about

The preacher of the papal household offered a look at how to interpret Vatican II.

Thaddeus Ma Daqin allegedly violated the rules for episcopal ordinations.

Work can be dignifying, but only when workers are treated with dignity.

Why did the Senate fail to ratify an international treaty for persons with disabilities?

One of the more interesting aspects of the Catholic Church rsquo s involvement in civic life is that it cannot be comfortably placed anywhere along the left-right political spectrum at least in an American context Just days ago I posted about Pope Benedict rsquo s widely-reported comments on same

If we cannot control violence in the world, we can try to limit the damage.

In an interview with Newsday Hugh McGowan described his daughter Anne Marie Murphy fifty-two the married mother of four children as ldquo witty rdquo and ldquo hardworking rdquo an artistic and fun-loving painter The world would know nothing of this special education teacher were it not

Okay we all like making lists of New Year rsquo s Resolutions nbsp And most of the time--well much of the time--we have a really hard time keeping them because they rsquo re so difficult nbsp Lose 20 pounds nbsp nbsp Read a new book a month nbsp Never get drunk again nbsp Avoid all soda

Pope Benedict XVI used his important Christmas address to the Roman Curia in part to attack gains made by same-sex marriage advocates around the world especially in the United States in November and to contribute to a debate raging in France From USA Today Gay marriage denies God and devalues hum