Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
Columns
During his seven-and-a-half years as pastor of St. John’s Church in downtown Newark, Msgr. Jim Finnerty has met more than his fair share of unforgettable characters. For starters, there was a fellow who called himself Tony Baloney, an 80-year-old man with no known address. Then there was Mama,
Are North Korea and the United States moving toward the brink of war, perhaps one that would involve the use of nuclear weapons? Some experts think so. Former Defense Secretary William Perry, for one, has warned that the United States and North Korea are drifting toward war. Yet President Bush acts
The Word
I see trees of green red roses too I see them bloom for me and you I see skies of blue and clouds of white the bright blessed day the dark sacred night And I think to myself what a wonderful world Several decades ago the jazz musician Louis Armstrong was inspired by the magnificence of the n
Books
In the early spring of 2003 an American daily provided its readers with a map depicting the battle strategy for the U S -led invasion of Iraq The visual was memorable in its simplicity An arrow representing the U S military ground convoy swooped upward through Iraq from the southern border of
Editorials
The annual celebrations of Independence Day commemorate not only the sacrifices made during the American Revolution, but also a more nebulous concept: the American dream, which for many is bound up with the promise of economic success for any hardworking American. Yet the American dream is beginning
A freshman came to my office to discuss his first essay assignment in my lecture course on classics of Christian literature. We had been reading Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Letters From Prison. The student wondered what the Lutheran pastor imprisoned and executed by the Nazis would have thought of t
The Rule of Saint Benedict states, in Chapter Three: “The reason we have said that all should be called for counsel is that the Lord often reveals to the younger what is best.” This awareness was doubtless in the mind of our own newly elected Benedict XVI when he said in his first messag
The Word
One of the great disappointments of my life was the painful realization that every religious group to which I belong is imperfect This should not have surprised me Religious or not each group is made up of limited human beings Still idealistic as I was I expected more of religious people But
Letters
Many Best Years
I have read America for more than half a century. It has always been an excellent journal of opinion and many of its best years were under the editorship of Thomas J. Reese, S.J. Father Reese is an extraordinarily balanced, well-informed, faithful priest and Catholic leader, and I have had the pleasure of knowing him for the last 10 years.
Tens of millions of Americans had the opportunity to see Father Reese at work during the extended period of television coverage from the end of one papacy to the beginning of another. The timing of his departure could not have been worse!
The Jesuits can be wonderfully proud of Father Reese and America. May God continue to bless your great work. Onward through the fog.
(Most Rev.) John McCarthy
Arts & CultureBooks
Saturday brings Ian McEwan rsquo s novel output to a neat dozen with one exception most of them have tended toward brevity rather than length I have read almost all of them and consider myself a fan Ironically McEwan received the Booker Prize for Amsterdam a short novel of intrigue while his
News
Basil Pennington Dead at 74; Known Worldwide as Writer and Teacher of PrayerAbbot M. Basil Pennington, the Trappist monk known worldwide for his books and ministry on centering prayer, died on June 3 at the University of Massachusetts Memorial Medical Center in Worcester from injuries sustained in a
It seems to have become commonplace lately, especially among those who try to assess the state of the world and make recommendations about the sort of leadership that is needed in the Catholic Church, to bemoan the de-Christianization of Europe, an idea the media have embellished by contrasting Old
Faith in Focus
"Other than the human tragedy, this is a non-event for the energy markets,” said an energy risk manager quoted by The Wall Street Journal (3/25/04), referring to the deadly explosion at the Texas BP oil refinery that took the lives of at least 15 people, injured more than 100 others and t
What does the number 26,300,000 signify? It’s not the number of seconds in a day (734,400); it’s not the population of France (61,000,000); it’s not Donald Trump’s salary for his work on The Apprentice this year ($3,200,000 to say "You’re fired" 34 times). It
Arts & CultureBooks
At the closing of the interreligious World Day of Peace in Assisi in 1986 Pope John Paul II articulated the essence and value of the day rsquo s fasting and prayer ldquo Let us see in it an anticipation of what God would like the developing history of humanity to be a fraternal journey in which
Faith in Focus
"Lord, teach us to pray. Are there any words in the Gospel more poignant than these? Here is a phrase that pulls us to the very core of belief - a request that cries out for consolation, instruction, guidance and hope. Throw us a lifeline, Jesus. We need help. Teach us to pray! After two millen
It should come as no surprise to readers of this column that I find President Bush profoundly deficient in implementing his culture of life theme. Sometimes, when I fail in charity and am tempted to judge his character, I even suspect it a cynical move to use an expression famously invoked by Pope J
Arts & CultureBooks
Today as never before in their history Americans are enthralled with military power So begins the introduction to Andrew J Bacevich rsquo s thorough and prophetic examination of our increasing dependence on guns and bombs to insure our domestic security and spread our ideals of democracy abroad Ba
This year marks the 40th anniversary of Nostra Aetate, the document from the Second Vatican Council that outlined the church’s relations with the great non-Christian religions in light of a renewed theology. The declaration was the first systematic, positive and comprehensive presentation ever