What more appropriate time than this year of bombings retaliations wars and rumors of war to investigate the meaning and practice of terror especially in its relationship to faith Lee Griffith in The War on Terrorism and the Terror of God offers a compelling start Although he examines histori

As of last Sept. 11 the word hero has assumed a life of its own. Although our political and social history is replete with heroes and heroic deeds, whether in wartime or peacetime, a new way of looking at heroism, of defining courage and sacrifice, was born on that fateful day in 2001. In his addres

Catholics have always relied on church teaching for an understanding of marriage expressed perhaps in papal encyclicals and theological studies But A Daring Promise is different from these It is both intellectual and spiritual offering a treatment of married spirituality that is in rather short

Anniversaries of great disasters are commemorated mainly for the sake of the living. If the event was recent, an observance of its anniversary may somewhat console those who are still mourning, and that is a great benefit. The sting of death, as the historian Arnold Toynbee once said, is often enoug

Catholic-Jewish Statement on Conversion Draws ControversyA Catholic-Jewish statement published on Aug. 12 repudiating campaigns that target Jews for conversion to Christianity has drawn controversy, including sharp criticism in some Catholic quarters and a charge of Catholic anti-Semitism by a top S

Awailing ululation echoes across the night as I trudge up the sandy hill, the Muslim call to prayer that signals the end of the day. As I crest the hill, I pause to catch my breath. The thin air at this altitude makes any form of physical exertion a daunting task. The wind blows, and a whisper of sa

Down the street from your house is an unpretentious bungalow. You don’t often see the owner, but when he does appear, he wears a dark suit and dark glasses on even the cloudiest and hottest days. You sometimes notice bulges in his clothing. He rarely speaks or shows much interest in the neighb

I remember reciting the phrase about mourning and weeping in this valley of tears in the Hail, Holy Queen, a prayer I said often when I was growing up, and being aware at the time of the immense suffering in the world. Perhaps it was because I was a child during World War II or because the church ta

Sunday, September 23, 2001. This morning I am here with Joe and Chris, two young Jesuits from Fordham University. Part of Jesuit training includes philosophy studies, and there is a large community of Jesuit scholastics studying at Fordham, for whom working at Ground Zero has become a kind of t

First of all there are the kudos for The Orchards of Syon No less an eminence than Harold Bloom calls the book Hill rsquo s most magnificent work in a long career of splendors A N Wilson calls Hill probably the best writer alive in verse or in prose the nearest thing we have got to a poet who

Finally some questions are being asked about the plans to invade Iraq. Strangely enough, the biggest stir has been caused not by the churches or the Democratic Party, but by the likes of Henry Kissinger and Richard Armey. Imagine, Kissinger and Armey, the voices of moderation—although their mo

On the Fourth Sunday of Easter, I replaced my pastor as administrator of the parish of the Immaculate Conception in the Diocese of Raleigh. Under the diocesan Code of Professional Responsibility, he was removed by the bishop because of an allegation of sexual misconduct with a teenager that took pla

A popular and pious saying is that God gives you the graces you need. This is thought to be especially true in your ministry or vocation. If you are a parent, for example, God will give you the graces you need to raise your children—like patience, compassion and wisdom. Likewise, to accomplish

Today I failed that easy command of St. Paul, Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. While inmates at the prison where I work were smiling and rejoicing, I was on the verge of tears. It happened this way. Shortly after arriving at the prison, I noticed three inmates standing with

ldquo Once a reasonable number of our germ cells have been given a chance to impart their DNA to the next generation rdquo U C L A biologist William R Clark reminds us ldquo our somatic cells become so much excess baggage They serve no useful function and they mdash we mdash must die so th

Even though the U.S. bishops have adopted reforms to try to end the clerical scandals, do not expect any letup in the media’s focus on the church. View the past six months as a Catholic Watergate and expect consequences similar to those that presidents and political candidates have endured fro