The image of war's innocent victims has driven generations of correspondents to risk their lives.

A reflection on the grace of suffering

Pray Before the Mystery Re “Staying Civil” by Bishop Blase Cupich (3/5): However much the Catholic Church is convinced of the righteousness of its own position on the right to life of the unborn, such conviction—as I myself am convinced—cannot be imposed on the secular politi

I went last week to The California Museum in Sacramento with a passel of Jesuits from the University of San Francisco on a rented bus to see finally an exhibition about American nuns I had heard so much about The exhibition Women and Spirit had been assembled and mounted through the Leaders

The story of the trial crucifixion and death of Jesus of Nazareth which is recited sung and often acted out in churches on Palm Sunday speaks for itself This is one reason why preachers are encouraged keep their homilies short that day Or as the pastor of the local Jesuit church told me ldq

America was one of the many participants in the 2012 Los Angeles Religious Education Congress nbsp For those who haven t experienced Congress it s hard to describe the sheer nbsp magnitude of the event tens of thousands of Catholics both clergy and lay from around the world doing nbsp almost

Cambridge MA I had occasion to preach on the Harvard campus this morning mdash nbsp Thursday in the 5th week of Lent mdash and as is often the case found myself challenged by the Gospel even before I could present it to the congregation Today rsquo s reading is from the second half of chapt

The Rev Robert Barron author and host of the widely successful book and series Catholicism which was reviewed recently in America by Tim Reidy reviews the hit movie The Hunger Games from a very Catholic and very thoughtful point of view nbsp Certainly it s the only review you ll prob

Because I was doing doctoral studies at the time I able to be home when my father died even able to stay a couple of weeks afterwards with my Mother So I was with her when those initial days of funeral preparation and its frenzied aftermath of calls and visits had passed Strange how family m

Jonathan Haidt rsquo s The Righteous Mind Pantheon is a book addressed to our national discontent A study in moral psychology it aims to explain why Americans are so polarized over politics and religion Haidt rsquo s explanation ldquo the righteous mind rdquo not only the human capacity to

Take a few minutes to watch Bill O Reilly interview Cardinal Timothy Dolan about the bishops s continuing battle again the Obama administration Cardinal Dolan seems to suggest that secularists in the Obama administration are using the issue of birth control which is used by most Catholics to furt

Pope Benedict returned to Rome this morning after a private meeting last night with an aging mellowing Fidel Castro Oh to have been a fly on that wall He had some parting shots on the Havana tarmac for both Cuban socialismo and the U S economic embargo of its one time surrogate The light o

Mississippi is the most religious state in the country and New England is the least religious region this according to Gallup s recently released findings nbsp nbsp Gallup concludes America remains a generally religious nation with more than two-thirds of the nation s residents classified as

I am happy to report that the legendary director Martin Scorsese reads America mdash or at least the February 27 issue which featured an essay on his work by Father Robert Lauder Mr Scorsese writes to correct an oft-quoted remark that it turns out has been misattributed to his former film teach

Michael C McCarthy of Santa Clara University offers a thoughtful response to Rick Santorum s recent remarks on higher education From The Jesuit Post People lose their faith in college Or so Senator Rick Santorum believes if his bold and intemperate statements of a few of weeks ago are taken at f

Last week I was in Berkeley California for the Occupy Faith National Gathering coordinated by the Interfaith Tent at Occupy Oakland I was one of six from Occupy Faith NYC Occupy Wall Street and our delegation was a small part of over 60 conference participants from some fourteen Occupations ar

However uncomfortable has been their association of late the U S C C B and the Department of Health and Human Services have been partners in millions of dollars in federally funded social services and over the past year or so on one court docket Now a U S District Court decision in Massachusett

In January 2011 William Byron S J wrote a much discussed article for America making the case for exit interviews of lapsed Catholics Bishop David O Connell of the Diocese of Trenton was intrigued by the idea and commissioned Fr Byron and Charles Zech of Villanova University to conduct just