Well not exactly Arch Street but close enough Many years ago after graduating from college nbsp I was nbsp backpacking through nbsp Europe on a nbsp Eurailpass with a friend and also with just a few dollars in my pocket nbsp One day in Paris nbsp croissant in hand yes truly nbsp my compa

Richard Leonard rsquo s essay The Mystical Gaze rsquo and the DVD release of Avatar provide an opportunity to revisit the film nbsp nbsp Leonard helpfully points to the level on which the film works nbsp Endless reviews of its clich eacute d story line simply miss the point nbsp It rsquo

Last week I posted excerpts of Father Robert Beloin s homily on the sexual abuse crisis in hopes that the resources of Scripture could be a fruitful resource for reflecting on the church s problems today This week we offer another homily for your reflection this one from Father Michael Ryan of th

If you haven t done so already take a few minutes 12 to be exact to watch this trailer from the upcoming documentary Monse ntilde or The Last Days of Oscar Romero Having worked at two Catholic magazines I ve read a lot about the martyred archbishop but nothing compares to seeing this foot

We are extremely fortunate to have John Anderson writing for us nbsp Anderson one of our new film critics also writes regularly for The New York Times Arts amp Leisure section as well as for The Washington Post and Variety nbsp In fact you might have seen this recent piece he did in the Ti

3 How do we allow the Church to meet the standards that Jesus set for it in the treatment and reception of children All I can do as an individual Catholic is propose ideas imperfect though they may be for change that will serve the most vulnerable amongst us as Jesus intended I should be clear

2 We need to return to the source The mission of the Church was outlined by Jesus and we must listen to Jesus with renewed care The elements of the Church rsquo s mission with which I am concerned are a Jesus rsquo teachings on how his disciples should utilize power and authority b the partic

Some of you may be aware of the Talking Heads song ldquo Once In A Lifetime rdquo in which David Byrne sings the refrain ldquo same as it ever was same as it ever was same as it ever was rdquo over and over nbsp I sometimes get the sense that many members of the Church clerics and laity

Some commentators have seized on the notion that health care and jobs are competing priorities and that the president made a big mistake in putting health care ahead of jobs In a nutshell they are saying It rsquo s jobs stupid They might have had a point had the president made such a choice

On this side of the Atlantic we don t go for headlines with commas in them -- an American newsroom custom which we ve resisted The obvious headline was Belgian bishop resigns over abuse But you would have thought wouldn t you that meant a bishop resigning for failing to handle properly the ca

Newsweek in an article by Tim Fernholz has accused me and Peggy Noonan of occupying the mushy middle in the discussion of the clergy sex abuse crisis I have been called many things but mushy is not one of them If anything my worry is that the blogger rsquo s calling to be provocative somet

Today April 22 is the 40th anniversary of the day we celebrate Earth a day marked with community and global events intended to heighten awareness of the many threats to the health and well-being of our planet It should remind us that sustained ongoing efforts are required to address these chall

Although it is the Vatican and the Church in central Europe that have been under the spotlight over abuse recently the media coverage has been so intense that the bishops of England and Wales have felt it necessary to respond publicly to the firestorm in an unusual statement All parishes in Englan

Pro-life groups led by Virginia rsquo s Governor Bob McDonnell scored an important victory in the state legislature yesterday By a vote of 20-19 the Senate in the Commonwealth of Virginia passed a law restricting the use of state Medicaid funds for abortions except in cases of rape incest or t

The Vatican cardinal whose contempt for civil authorities was revealed last week in a 2001 letter to a French bishop has been disinvited by a traditionalist Catholic group who wanted him to celebrate a Old Rite Mass at the Cathedral in Washington DC The Paulus Institute who had spent three years p

As the May 6 election in Britain nears Matt Malone S J reports from London on the ever tightening race to control the next parliament Not long ago the Conservative leader David Cameron was the favorite to lead his party to victory but the recent surge of the Liberal Democrats and Nick Clegg

Last week I ventured out to Houston Texas mdash a first for me and boy nbsp there sure are a lot of Lone Star flags around mdash to speak to the National Federation of Priests Councils meeting nbsp It was wonderful to be among so many hardworking dedicated and lively parish priests even if

What s Bloggingheads nbsp A cool new well a few years old website that brings together two experts to discuss a newsy topic at length nbsp And I mean at length nbsp This discussion between me and Peter Laarman the director of Progressive Christians Uniting nbsp lasts almost an hou

President Obama is about to score another big legislative victory as the Senate prepares to pass a bill that will rein in Wall Street Indeed this week the President seems to be hitting his stride just as the GOP appears a bit dazed and confused Think back three months ago to January when Sen Sc