Two Americans join the college of cardinals.

My recent visit to Sudan corresponded with the first Sudanese bishops annual meeting in Khartoum in nearly 20 years that included both northern and southern bishops. The bishops, separated by a long civil war, were again united, and the joy was palpable. After a jubilant open-air Mass, nearly 5,000

I beheld cried the prophet Jeremiah and lo there was no man and all the birds of the heavens had fled 4 25 KJV One part of the Bible that has gained in heft thanks to the technological horrors of modernity is the apocalyptic genre When visionaries in either testament describe a global catac

He moves with burglars and police

Happily the media did a decent job in its coverage of the revelations about Mother Teresa s dark night contained in the bestselling book Mother Teresa Come Be My Light More representative of the overall coverage were thoughtful articles like David Van Biema s piece in Time which was somet

Last summer New York Times columnist David Brooks wrote about a book he picked up in a New Hampshire bookstore The Autobiography of an Elderly Woman The elderly woman describes what she calls living in a different dimension where her sons no longer seek her advice but rather carefully shield her

I just got around to reading Jeffrey Sachs 2007 BBC Reith Lectures entitled Bursting at the Seams Many may have read if not do so Sachs stirring and important 2005 book The End of Poverty Economic Possibilities for Our Time Sachs an economist has been the principal adviser to the

I found myself wondering how 2 Thessalonians 3 7-12 fit with Malachi 3 19-20a often 4 1-2a in English translations and Luke 21 5-19 Apart from thematic fit I wondered how appealing Paul s call for diligence in daily tasks could have been and I am assuming Pauline authorship of 2 Thessaloni

The Sadducees and Resurrection from the Dead Luke 20 27-39 This blog is written for the person who wants to enter more thoroughly into the meaning of this conflict story Sadducees against Jesus than a brief homily can provide 1 The first reading today from the Book of Maccabees shows that

Remembering Father Pedro Arrupe on the centennial of his birth.

Come Be My Light: The Private Writings of the Saint of Calcutta (Doubleday, $22.95) is a disturbing book, one that has become a lightning rod for commentators of every stripe, from believers to unbelievers. Can it also be read as a consoling book? I believe so, though the consolation is not “c

Just after the terrorist attacks on the United States on Sept 11 2001 White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer warned Americans at a press conference that we are now living in an era in which 8220 we have to watch what we say 8221 Since that declaration I have been searching for a book de

We must honor our soldiers before, during and after their service.

Over the years, my wife and I have developed an ear for war. After reporting from the Middle East for most of the last decade and covering the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq for The Boston Globe, I have seen and heard too much of it from too close. During one of my postings as The Globe’s bure

Thomas the Apostle needs a publicist. Even though in Johns Gospel he gives voice to the most profound statement of faith in the New Testament, My Lord and my God, the first word that comes to mind for most of us on hearing his name is doubtingdoubting Thomas. We forget his courageous response when J

First thought: man, no wonder he was so skinny.

R 233 mi Brague has had two previous books translated into English The Wisdom of the World The Human Experience of the World in Western Thought 2003 French original 1999 traces the ways in which people have related human action to cosmological realities that serve as models for judging right

I graduated from journalism school in 2000, a heady time when newspapers were still hiring young people with enthusiasm but little experience. With a little help from a friend, I got a job at The Hartford Courant, a reputable midsize newspaper. During my three years at the Courant, management introd