Report Links Religious Freedom to Democracy A nation that lacks freedom of religion is stunting its own social, economic and political development, said speakers presenting an annual report on religious freedom around the world. Religious freedom guarantees the establishment and protection of democr

Seventy years ago this November, a synagogue was burning in a little German village of Christians and Jews. Many smelled smoke wafting through the windows. Someone heard Mrs. Lowenstein shouting, “Our synagogue is burning. Please, help!” But the street remained silent. The only other voi

A slideshow of Pauline pilgrimage sites

Food production is not keeping up with demand.

Was Paul an egalitarian or a chauvinist?

A pilgrim's guide to some Pauline sites

Hammering Out the Issues In contrast to the sledgehammer approach used by many priests and bishops, the Rev. J. Brian Bransfield (“Conscientious Election,” 10/13) offered a thoughtful and nuanced argument. However, his list of significant moral dilemmas is telling. He writes that “

To understand what St Paul was saying in his letters we also need to appreciate how and why he was saying it Paul rsquo s letters which are the earliest complete documents preserved in the New Testament were written to predominantly Gentile Christian communities in the Greco-Roman world With t

What today's church can learn from Paul

Pastoral theology and practice in Paul's letters

The task before the country is to sustain the citizen interest evident during the 2008 election.

Rediscovering a time-honored devotion

The Duty of Delight The Diaries of Dorothy Day Edited by Robert Ellsberg Marquette Univ. Press. 700p $42 This first edition of the collected diaries of Dorothy Day is bound to become a modern spiritual classic. Many Catholics already know some basic facts about the American-born founder of the Catho

A questionable take on the Incarnation

A typically astute article by Peter Steinfels--one of his very best--in The New York Times on the Catholic vote here Here is Steinfels Many Catholics may understandably feel that the bishops are talking out of both sides of their mouths Catholics are not supposed to be single-issue voters b

The post-mortem over episcopal interventions nbsp in the nbsp election is likely to dominate the bishops meeting nbsp in Baltimore Thomas Reese SJ here and John Allen over at NCR have excellent analyses of who will be waving the surgical knives and what they hope to establish There s a second

Here s news from Bill McGarvey editor of Bustedhalo com the website for young adult seekers and believers about a fun new idea for pilgrimage In an age such as ours is it possible to reinvigorate that old model nbsp and bring a spiritual dimension to a 21st century holiday nbsp Before n

From Thomas J Reese S J senior fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center in Washington DC and former editor in chief of America one of his typically astute analyses of the U S bishops approach to the political sphere nbsp Bishops Plan for Dealing with a Democratic Washington On No

We have seen four stories that follow in a certain logic upon the first prediction of the passion resurrection conditions of discipleship the Transfiguration the mystery of Elijah who restores all things and the faith to call upon Jesus in prayer for healing We continued with the second