Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
Editorials
Should Mentally retarded people be executed? That the question is even being posed shows how deeply entrenched capital punishment remains in the United States. But this is the question now under consideration by the Supreme Court. The court’s decision will determine whether executions of peopl
Books
Finding quality child care in America is almost every parent rsquo s quest or nightmare Presently 13 million American children out of a population of 21 million are in child care Half of those in child care spend 35 hours or more a week in some facility away from the home One-third of the chil
The Word
A courtroom dramawhether it is a John Grisham novel a prime time TV series or one of a host of films from To Kill a Mockingbird to Philadelphiaprovides enduring fascination Especially common are plots pitting a little-known lawyer defending a victimized client against powerful adversaries This
Books
At the close of the 19th century a religious sister in New Orleans left to her sisters and to future generations a written history of the community to which she belonged What is unusual is that this history was written by a black woman a member of a community of black sisters founded before the
News
Seminary Enrollment UpU.S. Catholic theological seminaries enrolled 101 more students this year than last year, the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate said. The figure rose from 3,483 in the 2000-01 academic year to 3,584 in 2001-02. It marked the fifth straight year of increases and the
Of Many Things
Suddenly everyone is an expert on celibacy. Suddenly everyone is an expert on the priesthood. Suddenly everyone is an expert on gay priests. Or more accurately, suddenly everyone is happy to talk about the Catholic Church, no matter how little they know about Catholicism.Maureen Dowd, in a hateful c
Editorials
Sexual abuse by priests has done untold harm to innocent children and adolescents who were physically, psychologically and spiritually damaged by people they should have been able to trust and respect. Outrage at these crimes has been directed not only at the perpetrators but also at those church of
Books
The major culprit for the disasters in Africa is none other than foreign involvement claims the distinguished journalist Mark Huband First came the European colonialists who delineated territories according to their political interests and then either created or exploited cultural differences am
Columns
Spring break, in our mountainous part of the country, does not always coincide with spring. The chill of winter often lingers past the vernal equinox. Today, for example, it is snowing on our poor, tentative tulip shoots. The wind is at war with forward progress, and the ice on the road has kept us
Letters
Not Deterred
The article Guatemala’s Violent Peace, by Robert B. Gilbert, (3/25) must have tugged at the heart of every New York Sister of Charity as we recall with sorrow the assassination of our sister, Barbara Ann Ford, on May 5 of last year.
Barbara had served the poor of Guatemala for almost 20 years as a nurse and trained counselor when she was fatally shot by someone determined to steal her vehicle.
Your graphic piece leaves one appalled at the level of cruelty people are capable of when they inflict such horror on others for an economic, social or racial pretext.
The situation in Guatemala described in the article ranks right up there with the malice of the terrorism we experienced here on Sept. 11. By the grace of God, it has not deterred the five remaining Sisters of Charity who continue working among the Guatemalan people.
Yolanda De Mola, S.C.
Politics & SocietyFeatures
A major problem now exists for the future of priestly vocations because of “the alliteration of priest and pedophile.”
Books
In a new book of essays entitled Reading William Kennedy Syracuse University Press Michael Patrick Gillespie writes that Kennedy rsquo s novels are infused with Catholic dogma however a broad more diverse ethical system than that articulated in The Baltimore Catechism informs his writing That
Politics & SocietyFeatures
Child sexual abuse, in the priesthood and in society at large, is a complex issue that does not admit of simple understandings or simple solutions.
The Word
As the Easter cycle moves to Ascension and Pentecost the readings foreshadow the ongoing life of the church Acts describes an early conflict in the community and the choice of seven men filled with the Spirit One is Stephen who immediately afterward is put to death This leads to the spread of t
In recent weeks, dioceses all across the United States have re-examined their policies on clergy misconduct, as priests across the country have been removed from parish duty because of their derelictions. Media coverage of these events has encouraged the faithful to wonder and to question.Among both
Books
Thomas Cahill rsquo s highly successful Hinges of History series has established him as one of the most engaging and popular authors in the field of religion today Three volumes have been published thus far How the Irish Saved Civilization The Gifts of the Jews and Desire of the Everlasting Hills
Just as the omens in Congress had begun pointing in the direction of changes in U.S.-Cuba policydropping the travel ban, facilitating sales of food and medicinesthe events of Sept. 11 took place, and the president declared war on international terrorism. It’s been a long time since Cuba could
Columns
Marriage is said to be a sacred union. But I have had cause lately to contemplate just what a sacred union is and is not. Two dear friends have endured painful separations from spouses. One couple has recently reunited; the other appears headed for an ugly divorce. Like most people, I’ve known
Faith in Focus
We were told to meet at the Bronze Door of the Vatican Palace on the morning of Dec. 23 last year. After the security check and a short wait at the foot of a monumental marble stairway, we were led up through the vast courtyard of St. Damasus, down a long gallery decorated with frescos of old maps a
FaithThe Word
Today’s Gospel and Luke’s whole theology of the Spirit, which will unfold in Acts, is a chronicle of the way God can walk with us in surprising, often unknown ways, reversing our path from fear and disappointment to make of us bearers of the power of the risen one.