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On Closing Doors
Robert P. Maloney

Patrick Kavanagh, the Irish poet, once wrote:

Editorials
Haitians in Detention
The Editors
Ever since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, immigrants seeking to enter the United States have faced higher hurdles. This includes asylum seekers, and some have been treated in an especially painful and discriminatory manner. Among them are Haitians currently detained in south Florida. In their de
An Astonishing Vision: Casting Our Nets on the Net
Eric Stoltz
Conceived as an instrument of military tacticians, nurtured as a way to disseminate academic papers, imagined as a vast library, touted as a new economic frontier, the Internet has confounded all who sought to define its significance narrowly in purely practical terms. If we have learned anything, i
The Word
Mother Courage
John R. Donahue
Though Matthew stresses that the primary mission of Jesus was to the ldquo house of Israel rdquo in today rsquo s Gospel a non-Jewish woman draws him to a more universalistic vision Narrated by both Mark 7 24-30 and Matthew this story of courageous faith and boundary-crossing challenges the c
Of Many Things
Of Many Things
George M. Anderson
On Sundays I sometimes pass the Church of the Ascension on lower Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, and I generally pause to admire its Gothic Revival brownstone exterior fronted by a small courtyard with boxwood bushes. But it was not until late one Sunday afternoon in May that I went inside—drawn by
Editorials
David S. Toolan, 1935-2002
The Editors
At Home in the Cosmos, the title of the last book written by David S. Toolan, S.J., can also serve to describe his life. When our longtime associate editor and treasured friend died on July 16, he did not know that his book had recently won an award for theological writing from the Catholic Press As
Visiting a Catholic Worker Farm
George M. Anderson
Houses of hospitality on the land”—this is how Dorothy Day described the Catholic Worker farms that began to spring up in the 1930’s. In May, I had occasion to visit one of them and experience a weekend’s hospitality at the Peter Maurin Farm in Marlboro, N.Y. The farm, named
Books
A Few Things Before You Go
John Omicinski
How many times have we mumbled our way through the Nicene Creed giving not a second thought to our firm vocalized belief in the revolutionary proposition that there shall be a ldquo resurrection of the body rdquo after death and not simply some vague new life for our immortal soul How often p
News
Signs of the Times
From AP, CNS, RNS, Staff and other sources
In Toronto, Pope Urges Youth to Follow Christ, Transform WorldCapping a week of prayer and celebration by more than 500,000 Catholic youths, Pope John Paul II urged the church’s younger generations to follow Christ and transform a world torn by hatred and terrorism. He also asked them to keep
Letters
Letters
Our readers

God in the Ripples and Waves

We want to compliment Valerie Schultz on her excellent reflection, God in the Tangled Sheets (7/1). We heartily endorse her point of view, except for two small quibbles. The first concerns the parents of those called to celibacy. One of our children is currently making final plans to join an order of nuns who work in South America. No one should feel sorry for us, even though our daughter’s decision has cut in half our chances of ever holding a biological grandchild. Perhaps we hear the wise words of Ms. Shultz’s father, It’s what makes the world go round, slightly differently from the way she does. We believe that the it is not grandchildren themselves, but the love reflected in their eyes. We have been blessed to see many ripples of love spread out from the small splash of our commitment to each other. It appears that this love will soon raise a wave that will reach all the way to Bolivia and wash over 50 or more young girls who have known far too little love in their lives. We stand in humble awe of what God is doing, and feel rewarded in ways we never could have imagined when we said I do 25 years ago.

Our second quibble comes from the last line of the meditation, which seems to imply that the Schultz household has no resident saints. We beg to differ, and suggest she look more carefully in her photo album, where we are sure she will find saints aplenty.

Joseph and Jane Kupin

Hawks, Doves and Pope John Paul II
Drew Christiansen
The just war tradition is fast becoming a contested field of ideas in Catholic circles. The growing division of the Catholic community on issues of war and peace was on clear display at the annual “Social Ministries” meeting in the nation’s capital (Feb. 24-27), sponsored by the U.
Books
Set Aside
Paul Wilkes
It was one of those chilling moments I was seated across from my parish priest who had just gotten back from an extended ldquo time away rdquo mdash yet unexplained When I mentioned my interest in a more disciplined prayer life perhaps to buy a breviary mdash the standard daily book of prayers
The Word
A Shifting Rock
John R. Donahue
If there is one Scripture passage that seems to define Catholicism it is the Petrine promise of Mt 16 16-20 Matthew supplements Peter rsquo s confession that Jesus is the Christ Mk 8 29 by the more solemn affirmation ldquo You are the Christ the Son of the living God rdquo and adds extraor
Pakistan's Christians Face Sectarian Violence
David Pinault
This spring I was in Pakistan doing research on religious rituals among the country’s Shia Muslim population. As a Christian with an interest in interfaith dialogue, I make it a habit when I travel in Muslim countries also to learn about local Christian communities.On a beautiful Sunday mornin
Columns
Proud to Pledge
George Kearney
In the 1989 film National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, Aunt Bethany (played by Mae Questal), the aunt of family patriarch Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase), travels to the Griswold family home in Chicago to celebrate Christmas. Clark asks Aunt Bethany, whose hearing is failing, to say grace before
Film
Annihilation: Road to Perdition
Richard A. Blake
Road to Perdition begins and ends with a young boy looking out over Lake Michigan. His voice-over narration in the opening shot leads the way to the lengthy flashback that provides the story line of the film. The camera, however, stares out over the faceless waters with him, as though pondering his
Editorials
Door-to-Door Preachers
The Editors
An antique wooden plaque in one of our offices reads: “It is wonderful that the First Amendment protects freedom of speech. It is even more wonderful that the First Amendment doesn’t make anyone listen.” Most Americans would agree with both parts of the message. But on June 17 the
The Word
That Sinking Feeling
John R. Donahue
Peter is more prominent in Matthew than in any other Gospel Along with Mt 16 16-19 the promise to Peter and 17 24-27 the temple tax today rsquo s Gospel is one of three distinctive Petrine episodes Throughout these Peter rsquo s faith is a gift from God that is tested by suffering and doubt
Of Many Things
Of Many Things
James Martin, S.J.
Perhaps the saddest person I ever met was a fellow named Benjamin. Between 1992 and 1994 I worked with the Jesuit Refugee Service in Nairobi, Kenya. My job was to help urban refugeesthat is, people who had migrated to Nairobi from countries like Sudan, Rwanda and Ugandato start small businesses and
Letters
Letters
Our readers

Another Word

Every time I thought I just couldn’t handle another word, article or program on our current scandal, America would appear on my desk with its plenitude of scholarly, sane, informative articles. Your coverage over the past weeks has been outstanding! Each issue seemed even better than one before.

As someone who has spent the past 25 years teaching and writing about the role of the laity, baptism and the teachings of the Second Vatican Council and facilitating prayerful discernment decision-making throughout this country and down under, I was especially delighted to read Mary Jo Bane’s article Exit, Voice and Loyalty in the Church (6/3). Keep up your wonderful work!

Mary Benet McKinney, O.S.B.