Why Christians and Jews must continue the conversation

Last weekend I took part in a debate at the wonderful Battle of Ideas Festival in London a weekend of intellectual jousting where the hot-button issues of the day are gnawed over by panels of divergent experts and sharp-shooting audiences I ve been on panels in previous years on immigration and re

It is difficult to over-estimate the degree to which last night rsquo s vote in the House passing a comprehensive health care reform bill was a huge victory for the Catholic Church Yes for the USCCB but also for a view of the world that the Church at times alone has sustained in the face of t

Hallelujah The Stupak Amendment just passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 240 to 194 with one member voting present Earlier reports had predicted 225 votes for the amendment which bars federal funding of abortion as a part of health care reform but Congressman Stupak was able to whip

The National Right-To-Life Committee has sent a letter to all members of Congress urging them to vote for the Stupak Amendment which will ban all federal funding for abortion coverage The key section in the letter reads ldquo As NRLC rsquo s congressional scorecard for the 111th Congress will cle

A couple of different sources online and in the midst of the action today are suggesting that GOP Congressman Ahn lsquo Joseph rsquo Cao from Louisiana rsquo s Second District might vote in favor of the final health care bill provided the Stupak Amendment passes Congressman Cao is a devout Cat

The Rules Committee of the House handed pro-life forces an enormous victory last night deciding to allow a vote on the Stupak Amendment that will bar federal funds and federal subsidies from paying for abortion coverage The vote on both the amendment and the final bill are scheduled for later toda

NCR is nbsp reporting that Bishop Donald W Trautman is encouraging the U S bishops to adopt a last-minute measure to reject the new Mass translations nbsp Trautman who served as chairman of the USCCB Committee on Liturgy has long opposed the new translations as you can see from his article f

Oh the perils of running a news weekly We posted a story today that will appear in our next issue reviewing a diplomatic breakthrough in Honduras that seemed early this week to have ended four months of political crisis and social chaos in Central America s third-poorest nation Unfortunately the

I am not privy to the ways of the lectionary either ancient or modern and sometimes I see the connections clearly between the readings and sometimes I do not I had a hard time making sense of how Hebrews 9 24-28 fits with the other readings for the Thirty Second Sunday and the responsorial Psalm

It is strange I have a pretty good memory but I can rsquo t seem to remember the religion of the students who perpetrated the Columbine High School massacre Nor for that matter can I recall the religion of the young man who killed 31 people and then himself at Virginia Tech in 2007 But ther

Sad news from Boston came yesterday Thomas P O Malley S J passed away on Wednesday November 4 2009 at the age of 79 TPOM was a former editor of America magazine among the many jobs he held in the Society of Jesus He was dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Boston College from 197

A reader sent me a link to nbsp this nbsp And no I hadn t heard of it either nbsp But check it out nbsp It s from the California Province Jesuits nbsp nbsp They suggest using the techniques of Ignatian contemplation imagining yourself in the scene and applying them to particular events i

nbsp Woodstock Theological Center in our nation rsquo s capital sponsored a November 3 forum titled ldquo Honoring Human Dignity and the Common Good A Catholic Approach to Immigration Reform rdquo The impressive panel of speakers included Theodore Cardinal McCarrick Octavio Gonzalez of Stanfo

nbsp On this Feast of the Jesuit Saints and Martyrs this tasty item from Salon entitled A Vast Jesuit Missonary Ginseng Conspiracy which begins with this deck From Wisconsin to the court of the Kang-Hsi emperor with cameos by Daniel Boone and John Jacob AstorGov Jim Doyle announced a tra

Our friend Robert Mickens Rome correspondent for the London Tablet sent us this news brief ROME -- The official that initiated the Vatican s investigation of women religious in the United States admitted this week that the enquiry was fueled by concerns that American nuns had become overly secula

Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York in a lengthy blog post on his recently launched blog citing four examples nbsp says yes nbsp nbsp Laurie Goodstein religion reporter for the Times in a nbsp detailed nbsp response on the archbishop s comments says no offering a rebuttal on his blog n

The news that Congressman Bart Stupak the champion of pro-life Democrats will be out of town for the rest of the week due to a death in his family is the most discouraging news I have heard in a long time The House appears set to move forward on its health care reform bill possibly by the end of

Cambridge MA You will have heard by now about how the European Court has decreed that crucifixes in Italian classrooms are illegal a violation of the rights of those who wish not to be confronted with such religious symbols The debate is a fascinating one that the Court should interfere in loca

A terrific interview by Bill McGarvey over at Bustedhalo with Jim Conroy S J director of the Jesuit Collaborative a new venture of the New England Maryland and New York Provinces of the Society of Jesus designed to bring the riches of St Ignatius s Spiritual Exercises to more men and women