Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
Arts & CultureBooks
De gustibus non est disputandum is a snippet of medieval wisdom mostly honored in the breach as evidenced by Michael Kammen 8217 s Visual Shock a cheerful history of more than a century and a half of arguments about art Kammen is a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian of American culture and his re
Of Many Things
Back in the 19th and early 20th centuries, when a group of like-minded individuals wanted to found a movement, they usually started by founding a magazine. The Atlantic Monthly was the brainchild of Oliver Wendell Holmes, Ralph Waldo Emerson and other Boston luminaries who wanted to create a place t
Columns
More than a quarter-century ago, the Archdiocese of Chicago embarked on what must have seemed a radical idea at the time: catechetical barhopping. Well, that’s probably a bit too glib and irreverent. But it’s also not far from the truth. The program, after all, was called Theology on Tap
Faith
Catholic tradition helps me navigate the dangerous waters of medical decision-making.
Arts & CultureBooks
Viktor Frankenstein created the Monster Walt Disney created Walt Disney but the outcome was pretty much the same The creation takes control of the creator Even more chilling in Neal Gabler rsquo s unspoken subtext is the suggestion that the Disney empire provides a cautionary tale for America M
Current Comment
An Anglican Schism? Rowan Williams, the archbishop of Canterbury, faces an almost impossible challenge. Last week in Tanzania, a gathering of three dozen Anglican bishops rebuked their American branch, the Episcopal Church, for supporting gay clergy; consecrating Bishop V. Gene Robinson, an openly g
Senator Barack Obama, who announced his candidacy for the U.S presidency on Feb. 10, has been lauded time and again for his remarkable charisma. It is true that when he is on the stage, you have trouble looking at anybody else. Yet charisma gets you only so far in politics. Another reason Obama has
Letters
Into the Richness
Kudos for selecting a beautiful piece of artwork from the award-winning and gifted Janet McKenzie for the cover of America on Feb. 19. The painting of Mary Magdalene and Jesus provoked for me such a lengthy meditation that it was quite a while before I opened the artistic door to delve into the richness of the printed word in the rest of the issue. Thank you for a wonderful beginning to Lent.
Daryl Olszewski
Arts & CultureBooks
Two churchmen made headlines in 2006 with their comments about mandatory celibacy for Latin rite Catholic priests Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo of Zambia dropped from sight in Rome and appeared in the United States with his wife Maria Sung In July he founded Married Priests Now an association of m
The Word
One of the most beloved parts of the Bible is the parable of the prodigal son In the context of Luke 15 it serves to explain why Jesus spent so much time and energy on ministering to such religiously marginal persons as tax collectors and sinners While the parable can be approached from many angle
News
Vatican Rejects Appeal Against ExcommunicationThe Vatican’s highest court said it has no jurisdiction over a decision in March 1996 by Bishop Fabian W. Bruskewitz of Lincoln, Neb., that Catholics in his diocese who are members of Call to Action Nebraska and 10 other organizations were automati
Current Comment
Possibilities of DiplomacyFor some observers who take a dim view of the Bush administration’s foreign policy record, the most encouraging aspect of the recent agreement reached with North Korea concerning its nuclear program was the negative reaction of John R. Bolton, the ham-handed former U.
Columns
Today we took our infant son to the doctor for his regular checkup and vaccinations. We do not relish these visits. We gang up on the baby; I restrain my son’s hands, my husband pins his legs, all so the nurse can administer four different vaccine shots. The baby screams, later becomes letharg
As we enter the fifth year of war in Iraq, sincere voices protesting the violence attendant upon the campaign have become increasingly pronounced. The forbidding death toll of Americans in the armed forcesnow exceeding 3,000is reason enough for many to revisit the question of continued U.S. presence
Faith in Focus
The steel was cool and smooth under my hand. I was lying atop an X-ray machine, awaiting yet another test for an undiagnosed illness. Slowly, I realized I was taking comfort from the machine’s presence. My first reaction was an amused, Gadzooks, what a geek! Deeper reflection, though, made me
Editorials
"The shelters are full, transitional housing is very limited, and [so is] permanent housing that is affordable on local transportation routes. Such, according to the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ recent survey of homelessness in 23 cities, is the bleak situation in Charleston, S.C. But what is tr
The Word
Throughout the season of Lent the Scripture readings emphasize the themes of repentance conversion and forgiveness of sins They offer a consoling and hopeful message that we all need to hear at various times in our lives Today rsquo s passages develop those themes and challenge us to understand w
Two days of violent street clashes across Lebanon in late January raised the specter of renewed sectarian fighting in a country still reeling from 15 years of bloody civil conflict, a 29-year Syrian occupation and last summer’s 34-day bombardment by Israel. Street battles across the country th
The Organ Procurement and Transplant Network estimates that there are currently more than 89,000 potential organ candidates on waiting lists. In the past decade, the number of persons nationwide waiting for kidneys has more than doubled to at least 65,500 and could reach 100,000 by 2010. This growin
Culture
The books discussed in this article illustrate how Jews and Christians have repeatedly gone back to the Bible to shape their present and future. Though it is an ancient book, the Bible has always been and still remains a source of life, renewal and challenge. Alan D. Callahan’s The Talking Boo