Cambridge MA On June 10 I will celebrate the 30th anniversary of my ordination to the priesthood by Cardinal Terence Cooke I won t be getting together with my nine Jesuit classmates everyone is still in active ministry but we are saving the reunion for the 50th I think but I am sure al

The contrasting backdrops last night told the story John McCain appeared before a shocking lime green poster speaking to a few hundred supporters in Louisiana unable to find a cadence or turn-of-phrase that might stick in anyone s memory Hillary Clinton spoke to her supporters who unhelpfully

Barack Obama s decision to resign from the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago had two sides First he was undoubtedly tired of being held responsible for every outrageous or semi-outrageous or provocative or semi-provocative remark made from the pulpit there Second the good people at

On Friday May 30 three America editors including Drew Christiansen S J the editor-in-chief traveled to the Rose Hill campus of Fordham University in New York City to present to Avery Cardinal Dulles S J a long-time contributor to the magazine a small token of the editors appreciati

The Catholic Press Association announced its annual awards this weekend and America did pretty well OK we did very well please excuse this rare display of pride First and foremost America was named the best magazine in its category winning general excellence honors for our three issues dat

The controversy over Rev Wright s and Fr Pfleger s remarks teach one overriding lesson not that zealous preaching is bad not that outdated models of dealing with race in America are unhelpfully being invoked not that a sermon can serve as a seismograph for Christian patriotism The lesson i

It is hard to tell what happened in Puerto Rico yesterday On the one hand the results were entirely predictable Hillary Clinton not only enjoys nearly universal name recognition but she represents New York in the U S Senate The large number of Puerto Rican constituents in her jurisdiction mean

Well farewell for a week that is This week I ll be embarking on a blog tour to talk about the saints and discuss my book My Life with the Saints What s a blog tour That s what I asked when my publisher first suggested it Essentially you visit or write for a series of bl

Although the official America review will not be out for a few weeks I wanted to without treading upon the reviewer s field recommend Ron Hansen s new book Exiles It s a masterfully told novel or fiction based on fact that toggles between the Jesuit poet Gerard Manley Hopkins

So I m thinking of applying to a university for my Master s degree Part of me is excited about the opportunity Part of me feels a little ridiculous I have children who are old enough to think about getting a Master s degree I worry that my time for being a student has long passed It will

I am not sure why all three remaining candidates for president signed a joint statement from the Save Darfur Coalition Perhaps after such a long primary season which was so often focused on nitpicking issues it was time for a little moral posturing They noted that on this moral issue of tremend

Sen John McCain has long cultivated a political image as a maverick someone who is willing to reach across the aisle someone who will take unpopular positions challenge partisan orthodoxies someone you can count on to talk straight Like all political images there is truth in this characteriza

The Apostle Paul packs a mighty punch in his letters even when delivered in small doses this Sunday s Second Reading Romans 3 21-25 28 is a short passage that delivers great power It can be difficult today to understand the challenge of the theological issues buffeting the early Church espe

Yes I know I write a lot about Lourdes That s one of the hazards of being moved by something like a pilgrimage or a retreat experience But here s something new While the Order of Malta was on pilgrimage this year a few of the members of the Order followed our group around for the week a

Mark Stricherz s review of HBO s Recount for America is now online Mark once worked as a literary assistant here at the magazine and is the author of Why the Democrats are Blue Secular Liberalism and the Decline of the People s Party In his review Mark raises the provocative quest

Press coverage of the upcoming Puerto Rico primary continues to disappoint Both the New York Times and the Washington Post repeated the claim that Hillary Clinton was expected to win on the island because she has done better among Hispanics on the mainland Clinton does in fact have a leg up on O

Catholics expect some changes to the words in the liturgy from time to time. But they will soon be using the first Mass texts since the Second Vatican Council that have been created according to a different theory of translation. The revision will have a noticeable effect on the style and sound of t

Eradicating extreme poverty and hunger; achieving universal free primary education; promoting gender equality and empowerment of women; reducing child mortality; improving maternal health; combating H.I.V./AIDS, malaria and other diseases; ensuring environmental sustainability; and developing a glob