Mary Gordon's 'Circling My Mother,' reviewed

The political news from Iowa and New Hampshire has undercut the conventional wisdom about our present political culture. The surprisingly decisive victory in Iowa of Barack Obama, an African-American candidate campaigning in a predominantly white state, damaged the image of Hillary Clinton as the in

If I’m ever in a situation where I’m permanently unconscious and unable to eat,” says my father, “I’m begging you: Let me go. I don’t want to be kept alive by a feeding tube.” We are sitting at my parents’ table on a pleasant Sunday morning, with advan

Last November, leaders in Bostons labor-management community gathered for the annual Cushing-Gavin Awards dinner. The neutral award went to Edward Boyle, S.J., a priest who for the past 37 years served as executive secretary of the archdioceses 1,200-member Labor Guild. Boyle died of cancer on Nov.

Here I am at the parting of the ways and I must take the other road after all. The death sentence has been passed and the atmosphere is so charged with enmity and hatred that no appeal has any hope of succeeding. So the whole proceedings turned into a sort of comedy developing a theme. It was not ju

Above Father Kolvenbach defers to Father General in the Jesuit Curia dining room Photo Don Doll S J Yesterday the Catholic world was introduced to the new Jesuit Superior General through a variety of resources conversations with Jesuits who have known him he has been described to me as

Greetings from Reno Nevada where I gave two talks today at the Annual Diocesan Conference actually its 25th anniversary with the theme of Integrity Rooted in the Soul It is a beautiful cross-section of the Church as it lives on the ground and I am surprised by how midwestern in their ni

AMDG Father Adolfo Nicolas of Spain has been elected today as the 30th Superior General of the Society of Jesus by the Delegates of the 35th General Congregation and his election has been confirmed by Pope Benedict XVI Here is some biographical information about Father General from the

An informal survey of my black friends tells me they think that the interjection of the race issue into the 2008 primaries by Hillary Clinton and her surrogates was a calculated effort to paint Barack Obama as the black candidate when in fact his campaign is premised on a biography that transce

Peace and justice advocates and activists when they re making their list of what to be grateful for in 2007 can look to the peace accords in Ireland as a cause for celebration After centuries of violence and irrational hatreds it appears that the lions and lambs are now playing together A

America Associate Editor Jim Martin S J has been interviewed by Catholic Digest Fr Jim talks about his new book A Jesuit Off-Broadway which chronicles his experiences as a theological adviser during the production of the Public Theater s The Last Days of Judas Iscariot CD So what did

A reader has taken issue with my characterization of GOP presidential candidate Ron Paul as a libertarian wingnut I have reflected on the phrase and stand by it Indeed while libertarians can be very smart there is something a little crazy about their beliefs a craziness that is rooted in thei

We now enjoy public discussion about a Mass in which the priest faces ad orientem some like to refer to this position as with his back to the people while others like to refer to this position as towards the east itself a reference to the direction from which in olden times God was ex

From the latest communique from the General Congregation Press Office come the details of the election and installation of the General After four days of praying reflecting and consulting among themselves the 217 electors of the 35 General Congregation are ready to vote for a new Superior G

What are the delegates at the General Congregation looking for when it comes to electing a new General Actually that s an easy question to answer even if it s not as easy to find someone with all of the necessary qualities In Part Nine of the Constitutions of the Society of Jesus St

Sen Barack Obama is not campaigning on a hope and a prayer but if he has a prayer of winning he needs to flesh out his hopeful vision for the country He has presented himself as a transformational leader a claim that coheres nicely with his untraditional biography Still he needs to provide

Continuing on the burger theme from the last post Hillary and Barack decided to make nice last night during a debate in Las Vegas Whatever brownie points they gained for nice however they lost for veracity Hillary was asked about remarks made by her supporter black businessman Bob Johnson wh

Peter Sellick s beautiful article on this topic refers us approvingly to Archbishop Rowan Williams critique of the anthropocentric Renaissance view of the artist as a creative genius who imposes his will on his artistic material Williams proposes a return to the earlier more self-effacing v

One of the best Latin words used by the Society of Jesus is the murmurationes or murmuratio depending on which Latin professor you speak with It is the four-day period just begun in Rome before the election of the new Superior General in which the delegates murmur thus the word about