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While our nation was breathing a sigh of relief over the rapid deterioration of Taliban power in Afghanistan, we American Muslims were still reeling from the fact that our faith had also been hijacked on Sept. 11 by people who twisted their version of Islam into a blackened form uglier than the burn
Books
Spiritual genius is the uniquely human ability to seek life rsquo s meaning It rsquo s the voice inside us that keeps asking What rsquo s it all about Who am I How can I make a difference Thus does Winifred Gallagher begin this insightful and important book Her thesis is that all human beings
News
Vatican to Release Some WW II Archival Material EarlyThe Vatican announced it would open ahead of schedule part of its 20th-century archives, including new documents on Vatican-German relations and Pope Pius XII’s efforts to help prisoners during World War II. The Vatican said cataloguing the
Of Many Things
Call them keepsakes or mementos, most of us hold on to various objects as reminders of people we have cared about over the years—often friends who have died. I prefer “memento” because of its clearer relationship to the word “memory.” Coming across them from time to tim
Letters
Moral Compass
Thanks for your editorial Enron and Morality (2/11). Teaching corporate finance, investment analysis and portfolio construction and management established that the model of wealth maximization is worthwhile and shares the attributes of all economic models. It is a great engine for discovery, and it is flawed because it abstracts from people in a humanistic sense. Students were often reminded of that absence as emphasis was placed on their integrity, grounded in rigorous honesty, not necessarily as codified by due diligence or full disclosure.
As trustees of a religious-sponsored retirement plan, we were mindful of two things: 1) our independence of the sponsoring corporation and 2) the need to be sensitive to the work of the employees whose money was in the plan. It would have been both facile and deleterious to separate investment policies and decisions from the hard-earned money of the janitorial staff, nurses, administrators and others. It was their dough over which we had a fiduciary responsibility. Although it was not explicitly stated, as I look back on it now, we saw 1) our fiduciary responsibility as grounded not just in civil law but primarily in the law of Christ and 2) that work is noble because of the nobility of the workerthat is, their work and their retirement plan were the continuation of God’s creation. Such was the moral compass.
Charles A. D’Ambrosio
Film
For the last several months images of heroism have filled the media. The immediate heroes, the firefighters, police and rescue workers, have gradually been supplanted by brave survivors, mourning the dead and living for the future. Their stories have helped us through the horror, especially in this
Books
Back in the boom days of the very near past there was much talk of how stock ownership in the United States had been democratizedwith a stock in every pot There is no doubt that in the 1990 rsquo s many families like my own were suddenly mindful of the market having sunk savings for college or
Faith in Focus
While I was baking Christmas cookies in mid-December (oh, good, here’s another broken one!), my thoughts suddenly turned to Lent. Clearly I was en route to surpassing the average 1.4 pounds we Americans gain during the Christmas holiday season. So in a perverse sort of way, while munching my w
Columns
In his State of the Union address, President Bush launched another salvo in the war against terrorism, not to mention his war against clarity. He declared Iran, Iraq and North Korea to be an “axis of evil,” which all civilized nations must recognize and resolutely eradicate. Ever since 9
Editorials
The Bush administration has waged an effective war in Afghanistan, and, for the most part, has waged it in a just manner. After the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, we wrote that the terrorists should be brought to justice because of their crimes and because of the danger they pose to life in this country
A sea change has overtaken parole in the course of the last three decades. Partly in response to ever-harsher public attitudes toward offenders, in state after state parole boards have either been eliminated or their powers with respect to prisoner-release decisions have been greatly reduced.Previou
The Word
The feast of Tabernacles Sukkoth was one of the great celebrations of the Jewish liturgical calendar at the time of Jesus as it is today It was celebrated as an autumn harvest festival and people built little booths or tents that recalled the way they had dwelt during their wilderness wandering
Books
In Humanity A Moral History of the Twentieth Century Jonathan Glover made his quot moral history quot above all an account of the wars international and civil in which human beings killed one another throughout the century The book made for interesting appalling and enlightening reading Yet
At a friend’s home a few years ago, I sat across the dining table from a Muslim woman who had been born in Egypt and had lived in many cities around the world. Ramadan had recently ended; Lent would shortly begin, and fasting became a topic of conversation. She spoke knowledgeably about Islam&
At the risk of being rounded up as a Taliban sympathizer, I propose that President Bush is dressing up a boondoggle for the rich as a patriotic budget, wrapped in the American flag. Be patriotic and buy. Be patriotic and fly. Be patriotic and be quiet. Observing the Enron debacle, one can almost und
FaithThe Word
For Christ, while we were still godless, died at the appointed time for the ungodly (Rom. 5:6)
More than one perplexed priest has asked me: "What should I do when people come to confession and say they have nothing to confess?" It used to be that when people had not been to confession in years, they would offer a lengthy list of sins. Or longtime sinners would say, "You name it
Of Many Things
When I was growing up in suburban Philadelphia in the 1960’s and 1970’s, most of my friends were Jewish. I can say with confidence that I went to more seders than novenas, and attended more bat and bar mitzvahs than First Communion parties. At one point, I had been to so many bar mitzvah
Books
Following another rsquo s spiritual journey can be a voyeuristic undertaking Like sampling diverse liturgies one can as an aloof observer watch others worship making insightful observations about their correctness or oddity But like engaging liturgy one can also accompany the other to find w
Culture
I once had a spiritual director who told me that A Lent missed is a year lost from the spiritual life. Every year at this time, those words come winging back. And often my best Lenten devotion flows from reading. Here are a few reflective titles that seem worth mention for these 40 days.Philip Yance