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Faith in Focus
John J. McLain
Kosovo is a land in need of a voice. And the only one I can hear, or even imagine, is Sylvia Poggioli of National Public Radio. As I ride along on the bus I hear her describing the shattered houses and ruined streets. I wait for her to tell me about the tragedies peppered all over the sometimes-beau
Mary Jo Bane
The jacket of Robert Putnam’s new book, Bowling Alone (2000) has an illustration on the front cover that depicts a solitary bowler. On the back flap is a photograph of the bowling team the author belonged to in about 1955. Putnam takes his title from the fact that although about 91 million Ame
Books
William J. Collinge
Avery Dulles rsquo s first article for America appeared in the issue of May 5 1951 It was already five years since he had published his first book A Testimonial to Grace a narrative of his conversion to Catholicism while an undergraduate at Harvard For half a century Dulles has continued to tur
Of Many Things
David S. Toolan
On Friday evening, Sept. 29, poets, musicians, theologians and friends gathered in the James Chapel at Union Theological Seminary in New York City to celebrate the life and work of the Orthodox priest Alexander Men. Among other delights, we heard from Father Men’s son Mikhail, currently vice g
Joseph Claude Harris
American bishops discussed research describing changing parish staffing patterns at their national convocation in Milwaukee on June 15-17. The three-hour deliberation considered data showing that the number of priests continues to decline, while parishes are hiring more and more lay ministers. Archb
Michael A. Fahey
The jubilee year 2000 may well go down in church history as a record year for beatifications and Vatican documents. Despite the frail health of the pope, aides stand actively at attention to help the Holy Father extol holy men, to ban liturgical oddities such as wandering from the sanctuary to besto
Columns
I’ve been pre-approved, and that’s just the peace of mind I deserve. It’s a unique opportunity offered to me, Timothy J. McArty, because I’ve earned it. As a student of low culture and the written word, I’ve been collecting credit card solicitation letters for the past
Faith in Focus
Deborah French Frisher
I was a substitute teacher, and he was a 13-year-old boy. His face, still chubby with childhood, was framed by greased black hair that formed two spit curls at his temples. First he came and told me that he could not participate in physical education class that day because he would get his shoes mud
News
From AP, CNS, RNS, Staff and other sources
Bush Opposes Abortion, Supports Death Penalty Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush reiterated his opposition to abortion and support for school choice but disagreed with Catholic stands on the death penalty and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty in a wide-ranging interview with Catholic
Francis X. Clooney, S.J.
Dominus Iesus, published by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, of which Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger is prefect, is an instruction about the identity of Christ, the integral interconnection of Christ, revelation and the church, and consequently (in the sections to which I restrict my comme
Editorials
The Editors
The Vatican document Dominus Iesus has been poorly received by Christians and non-Christians with whom Catholics have been in dialogue for the last 35 years. Although experts will debate its theological arguments in the months to come, it was the general tone of the document that upset most of our d
Letters
Our readers
Predecessors in Faith My sincere and heartfelt congratulations on the article about Mother Katharine Drexel by Dennis M. Linehan, S.J., in your religious education issue (9/16). I appreciated your evident pleasure with the material we furnished.Our prayerful best wishes to each of you in your d
Books
Drew Christiansen
There was a time not long ago when neither religion nor politics was discussed in polite company These emotionally charged topics were taboo Today when people actually have time to take dinner together and linger long enough for real conversation talk of politics and religion may often be over
The Word
John R. Donahue
People often wonder What does it mean to be a good Catholic A cacophony of voices shouts answers go to Mass every Sunday obey the teaching of the pope be concerned about the poor and about injustice in the world experience the gifts of God rsquo s Spirit In an age of hyper-communication Catho
FaithFaith and Reason
Francis A. Sullivan
Although the major theme of the document Dominus Iesus, which was issued by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on Sept. 5, concerns the role of Christ and his church in the salvation of people who do not share Christian faith, the strongest reactions to it have come from spokespersons of
The year 2000 elections increasingly look like another turning point in American politics. The old issues that formerly ignited our passionscrime, defense, civil rights, balanced budget and abortionhave all but burned out. Neither party is clear about which new concerns will catch fire, even this la
Faith in Focus
David E. Nantais
The words spoken by the young Appalachian girl evoked in me a response I had not expected. My mouth became suddenly dry as I tried to swallow and fend off the rising lump in my throat. This sweet girl had not threatened me with violence, nor had she intentionally attempted to embarrass me. But her w
Of Many Things
George M. Anderson
Eileen Eganco-founder of Pax Christi USA and a long-time friend of Mother Teresa and Dorothy Daydied on October 7 at the age of 88. It was she, in fact, who introduced the two women, and near her casket at the funeral home was a photograph of the three women in conversation together at the Mary Cath
Books
William M. Thompson
The 1986 Assisi interfaith meeting of the pope the Dalai Lama Rome rsquo s chief rabbi the archbishop of Canterbury and others heralds a less elitist and isolated more dialogical and democratic style of mysticism appropriate to a global world contends William Johnston in his latest book This m
FaithIn All Things
Ladislas Orsy
The achievements of the pontificate of John Paul II were possible precisely because he inherited a living church, not one frozen in time.