Last night rsquo s spirited Vice-Presidential debate was billed in some quarters as a ldquo Catholic smackdown rdquo The debate moderator Martha Raddatz made specific note of that reality when she called the debate ldquo historic rdquo nbsp as it was the first time that both candidates fo

Jesuits are obliged outside voices might more easily say have the luxury for to make an eight day silent retreat every year I just returned from making mine in Seattle at the Jesuit University there I never know from year to year whether making my annual retreat will lead to dryness difficul

Once again we are pleased to have Robert David Sullivan offering his analysis of the latest debate As with the first presidential debate I rsquo m putting down my thoughts without hearing or reading any analysis or tweets and I can rsquo t imagine Obama supporters feeling reassured right now T

So the candidates rsquo faith did come up tonight when the moderator ABC News Martha Raddatz asked this I want to move on and I want to return home for these last few questions This debate is indeed historic We have two Catholic candidates first time on a stage such as this And I would

Today marks the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council nbsp Here is Pope John XXIII s momentous Opening Speech nbsp Opening Address Today Venerable Brethren is a day of joy for Mother Church through God s most kindly providence the longed-for day has dawned for the sole

From ldquo Dennis and Dee Go on Welfare rdquo Dennis storms into a welfare office with Dee ldquo Hi I rsquo m a recovery crackhead This is my retarded sister whom I take care of I rsquo d like some welfare please rdquo From ldquo The Waitress is Getting Married rdquo Charlie ponders wha

As I write this I am thinking about a little girl named Malala Yousafzai who lies in a hospital bed in Pakistan after being shot on her school bus by religious extremists who think that their Muslim faith prohibits the education of women The famous philosopher and student of religion E Marty

President Obama rsquo s debate flop has thrown the outcome of the 2012 election back into the who-can-say category adding some near hysterical energy to the final weeks of the campaign Just take a gander at Andrew Sullivan rsquo s frustrated teardown of the president rsquo s performance Other Dem

Cambridge MA This is the fourth of five reflections on 3 Nephi the book within the Book of Mormon in which Jesus most prominently appears You can find parts one two and three at this site nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp My goal from the start has been to show that one can pick up a book of another

FaithVillage Launches with 50 Shades of Evangelicalism

We are pleased to announce that America will now feature videos from Catholic News Service along with the weekly videos produced by our staff Check the blog or the video player on our home page for the latest videos We begin with a report from CNS on the opening day of Synod of Bishops on the new

Two Catholics vying for the vice-presidency will meet on a stage in Kentucky Thursday night for a debate whose stakes are quite high Vice President Joe Biden and Congressman Paul Ryan will face each other in the first major political event since last week when Mitt Romney crushed a tired and seemi

Vatican II requires that the people of God continue their pilgrim journey, aware that we move in contested terrain.

This is the kind of loving that expects no payback, but is willing to be spent.

Why the gifts of Vatican II are still needed today

The diaries of Yves Congar, the single most important theologian of Vatican II.

The revolution in Catholic teaching on the Jews