Airing Tuesday night on PBS: The Released, the grim story of life after prison in Ohio.

Jailhouse Blues Your editorial on the prison industry (“Prison Nation,” 3/9) paints a shocking picture. It would be helpful to remind ourselves that while the terminology varies, there are only three goals of imprisonment: the punitive (punishment for offenses), the rehabilitative (reint

After a year of planning, we still weren't sure how many people were going to attend our Centennial Mass on April 18.

The diocese recently announced a new initiative to encourage area Catholics to conserve water and energy.

An estimated 150,000 ethnic Tamils are still trapped in a small patch of Tamil-controlled area in the northeast of the island country.

Jerry Filteau of the The National Catholic Reporter reports on a recent statement by the Committee on Doctrine of the US Catholic Bishops characterizing Reiki as superstition and as not compatible with either Christian teaching or scientific evidence The document titled Guidelines for Evaluat

I wish I could be present at the celebration of America Magazine rsquo s 100th Anniversary tomorrow in New York nbsp It was about two years ago that I was invited to participate in the blog ldquo The Good Word rdquo and I have enjoyed the opportunity that I was given by Tim Reidy and the magazi

I have now watched the video of Archbishop Timothy Dolan rsquo s sermon at his Installation Mass on Wednesday What to say Rarely have words and the moment met so perfectly Not since Sean O rsquo Malley took the pulpit at Holy Cross Cathedral at his installation in 2003 has the American Church exp

Today marks the hundredth anniversary of America s first issue on April 17 1909 nbsp To celebrate a century of weekly Catholic journalism the editors and staff of America are inviting all friends of the magazine I suppose foes are invited too to a special Mass of Thanksgiving to be held

Doubtless there will be some readers who will find this an inappropriate topic for nbsp the blog of a Catholic magazine nbsp And who will no doubt roll nbsp their eyes nbsp It is hardly a recondite topic nbsp But I have to ask Have you seen the video of the woman called Susan Boyle singing o

ldquo Ruined rdquo a play by the award-winning playwright and MacArthur grant winner Lynn Nottage showing Jan ndash May 10 off Broadway at the New York City Center has received many rave reviews since its debut in Chicago and its opening in January in New York Perhaps more importantly in te

Nothing demonstrated the pathetic state of contemporary conservatism as yesterday rsquo s teabag protests Held in various cities groups of conservatives gathered to protest their high taxes and the President rsquo s budget priorities They dumped teabags in public places to vent their outrage in a

Archived coverage of the installation of Timothy Dolan as Archbishop of New York is available here on NY1 nbsp America associate editor Matt Malone S J was part of the broadcasting team for the mass in St Patrick s Cathedral America associate editor Joseph O Hare S J nbsp also offered

I sat riveted to my seat for two plus hours watching the prize-winning film by Matteo Garrone Gomorra At times I squirmed nervously viewing some violence or murders in the film The film which won the Grand Pris at Cannes in 2008 and the European film prize the same year inexplicably was overlo

The President of the United States came to Georgetown University yesterday to deliver a speech. The sky did not fall.

The controversy surrounding the University of Notre Dame rsquo s invitation to President Barack Obama has shifted in recent days as cooler heads appear to be prevailing Cardinal Francis George said he was misquoted if people thought he was urging that there be protests at the university itself H

The bishop-turned-president of Paraguay Fernando Lugo has joined a long line of Latin-American presidents in confessing to having fathered a child out of wedlock He admitted Monday to being the father of a two-year-old boy conceived while he was still Bishop of San Pedro He ceased his active mi

The bishop of Lincoln Nebraska Fabian W Bruskewitz nbsp weighed in last week on the controversy over the University of Notre Dame inviting the President to speak at this year s commencement ceremony nbsp Why is he writing nbsp Because Fr Jenkins CSC the president of Notre Dame has som

The daring rescue of Captain Richard Phillips from the Somali pirates who abducted him after failing to successfully steal his ship heartened the hearts of all Americans on Easter morning But the rescue does not solve the long-term problem of what to do about these pirates who have taken some one