Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
Arts & CultureBooks
If she were a name-dropper Jane Kopas might tell us that she and Pope John XXIII agree about many things She would agree with his opening address at the Second Vatican Council when the pope attentive to reading the signs of the times said that the substance of the ancient doctrine of the deposi
Film
"Nattering nabobs of negativism” was the phrase Spiro T. Agnew used to describe the press when he addressed the convention of California Republicans on Sept. 11, 1970. The vice president had his own reasons for despising what he called “the effete corps of impudent snobs.” Loc
Television
In the sugarplum candyland of Neptune, Calif., the high school student Veronica Mars had it all--smarts, a cute boyfriend, a stable nuclear family and social status. It is true that, unlike most of her peers, she was not wealthy; as sheriff, her dad was actually closer to “the help.” But
Columns
While searching recently for a colorful quote about relations between church and state, I turned to a man who knew a thing or two about the subject: John Hughes, known to critics and admirers alike as Dagger John. Hughes, as most readers will know, was the bishop and then archbishop of New York from
The 10th annual survey of 12- to 17-year-olds by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University (CASA) has a loud and clear message: Parents, if you want to raise drug-free kids, you cannot outsource your responsibility to their schools or law enforcement. The odds are t
FaithFaith in Focus
The other day I asked a friend of mine, an old-timer and a longtime baseball fan, if he remembered the 1955 World Series. He thought a moment, and said: "Oh, yeah, wasn't that a Dodger-Yankee series?" Yes, it was. But 1955 was special.
Arts & CultureBooks
Despite its title this book is not about controversial displays of the Ten Commandments in public buildings This issue is not even mentioned Rather Chris Hedges focuses on the life-giving force of the Ten Commandments in our lives as individuals and as a country The commandments are guideposts
The Word
We are an impatient people and the advantages of the electronic age have only exacerbated this We have fast food instant replay and news bites We become anxious when we have to stand in line at a checkout counter and we complain when a homily is more than 10 minutes long I know people who will
Of Many Things
"A tamale, please, and a cup of atole,” I said to the Mexican woman on East 116th Street, in the heart of Spanish Harlem. It was 7:45 a.m. on a weekday morning, and people were headed toward the subway to get to work. The woman was standing beneath a blue and white umbrella that shielded
News
CARA Honors Sister Katarina Schuth for Research on Catholic SeminariesThe Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate honored Katarina Schuth, O.S.F., on Oct. 5 for her extensive research on U.S. Catholic seminaries. Researchers must report their findings with wisdom and accuracy and avoid being c
Over the past half-century, hopes that human rights could become truly effective standards of international behavior have risen and fallen like the tides. When the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights was proclaimed in 1948, many saw it as a genuine commitment to “never again&r
Arts & CultureBooks
A friend reports the story of a woman widowed from a Catholic husband with two small children Honoring her pledge to raise her children as Catholics she inquired whether she too might become a Catholic But she was discouraged from pursuing her interest by the indifference of the two priests she
Only the President of the United States, according to the U.S. Constitution, can nominate persons to the federal judiciary and appoint such persons, with the advice and consent of the Senate. The discussions that took place at the Constitutional Convention in the summer of 1787 make it clear that th
Editorials
Election reform is needed in the United States on several levels, both because of inequities in the present system and because of low voter turnoutone of the lowest in the world. The period from 1960 to 2000 marked a long decline: whereas 65 percent of the adult population voted in the 1960 presiden
Only through the body does the way, the ascent to the life of blessedness, lie open to us.- St. Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermons on the Song of SongsThe Song of Songs has long held a privileged place in the mystical theology and monastic tradition of the church. Commentary on this erotically charg
Faith in Focus
For someone who came onto the world stage over 26 years ago as a vibrant and active runner, swimmer and skier, Pope John Paul II’s suffering throughout his almost 85 years of life is especially memorable. Many of us, at difficult times in our lives, identified with him. His intense suffering i
Arts & CultureBooks
For its ambitious scope the grace and beauty of its language and its compelling storytelling Cormac McCarthy rsquo s Border Trilogy - nbsp All the Pretty Horses The Crossing and Cities of the Plain - nbsp was a major literary achievement in American letters in the latter part of the 20th century
Letters
Restorative Justice
Reading Of Many Things by George M. Anderson, S.J., in the October 10 issue was an uplifting and enjoyable experience. Not only was the human success story of Jos in overcoming his past problems and bad experiences heartwarming; it also offered a good example of peacemaking/humanistic criminology in action. Here we see restorative justice in living form.
I currently teach two undergraduate sections of Probation and Parole: Theory and Practice and will bring this piece to the attention of my students to demonstrate not only the moral philosophical aspect of this component of American corrections, but also the positive and uplifting attitude of Jos’s parole officer, who, when his client stumbled, did not initiate a revocation procedure but reached out to him saying, I’ll work with you.
Truly, with such stories as this, there is hope for our criminal justice system.
James J. Green
The Catholic Church is unique in having a magisterium, a hierarchical structure through which declarations on teachings can come formally from “the center.” This, however, raises the question of who exactly is being addressed in those declarations that are reaching out to other faiths. I
The Word
There are some events that we would give anything to attend Who would not want to go to a presidential inaugural ball the Super Bowl or a World Series or the installation of a pope Though very different these are all momentous occasions and invitations to them are hard to come by One usually h