Terry Gross probably the best interviewer around after Tim Reidy of course interviews Ron Hansen about his new book Exiles on her NPR show Fresh Air today See post below Two New Raves about his new novel on Gerard Manley Hopkins and the writing of The Wreck of the Deutschland No

Summer reading lists have appeared in the last few weeks giving readers especially beach-going ones suggestions for enhancing their leisure time As strange as it might sound I m using today s blog to recommend adding the Bible to your summer-reading list One of the most significant trend

When I lived at Ciszek Hall the Jesuit house of First Studies near Fordham University in the Bronx the residents ranged in age from 23 a first-year scholastic to 83 our house father Despite the six decades that separated the two both had studied philosophy under the same Jesuit Norrie Clark

Few issues invite equal measures of demagoguery from both political parties as aging Republicans warn that Social Security will run dry when advocating their privatization schemes Democrats scare seniors with the specter of Wall Street bankers robbing them of their Social Security checks Politica

Special guest blogger Stephanie Ratcliffe the magazine s design and production coordinator--who is responsible for physically laying out the magazine--is also a talented artist in her own right A few weeks ago we featured on our cover her delightful image of our Founding Editor John Wynne

It is in the Acts of the Apostles that we hear most about Barnabas He is famous as a preaching companion with Paul in present-day Turkey with all the attendant success failure and persecution of Paul Prior to that he was grouped with Christians at Antioch who were known as having special gifts

We re pleased to announce that Austen Ivereigh has joined our roster of bloggers A former deputy editor at The Tablet of London Austen s most recent article for America was about Tony Blair s baptism into the Catholic Church This week Austen offers a British view of the U S race for pres

In Britain we usually begrudge American superiority and prefer not to admit it But a grand exception has been made for Barack Obama Even right-wing media here have heaped praise on the Democratic nominee s oratory presence and power to uplift with his vision of hope and unity This week s e

As the general election takes shape the leading issues have emerged the economy the Iraq War ethics reform global warming A news story may temporarily thrust a new item onto the list but in poll after poll these are the issues that people care about In fact it is an old bit of wisdom that

Why should a Catholic priest avoid preaching about political issues--Republican Democrat or otherwise--in a homily See what you think about one answer at Beliefnet Hint It s got something to do with whose word he s preaching or rather whose Word James Martin SJ

Here s a smart piece by two of the smartest Catholic scholars in this country David O Brien the church historian at Holy Cross College in Worcester Mass and Lisa Sowle Cahill the moral theology professor at Boston College writing on the policy of denying Communion to certain politicians

John McCain has had a four months long head start on unifying the Republican Party around his candidacy but signs remain that the GOP is fractured or unenthusiastic about his bid for the White House Barack Obama has had less than a week to unify the Democrats and the early signs are that the wo

The government's response created a most unnatural disaster

The world stands out on either side/No wider than the heart is wide.   —“Renascence” Edna St. Vincent Millay Recently, a friend of mine, a professional woman, sent me an e-mail message that she was going to Spain for vacation. Knowing that Spain was almost contiguous to Afric

Meeting the Food Crisis Greater support for the world’s small farmers would enable them to produce more food in a sustainable manner and help address chronic hunger and malnutrition around the globe, the Vatican’s permanent observer to the United Nations said during a meeting of the worl

How a small-town mayor implemented Catholic social teaching

An exhibit of the Danish artist Olafur Eliassons work is now on display at the Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan and will soon be traveling to Dallas, Chicago and Sydney, Australia. Fr. Leo ODonovan reviews the exhibit in the June 9-16 issue of America. View a slideshow of images from the Eliasson e