The fanfare with which Amtrak announced its new train, called Acela (Speed and Excellence), was somewhat diminished by delays in the start of service. Designed to ply the routes along the Northeast corridor, the $2-billion, 150-m.p.h. train system was scheduled to start late last year. Now, maybe it

Pope’s Visit to Egypt Seen as Aid to Christian-Muslim RelationsPope John Paul II’s visit to Egypt was generally well received among the Egyptian public, with some Muslims and Christians hoping he would encourage better relations between the two faiths. The pope’s first words at a w

"The whole battle is hotting up," declared Ken Ham to The New York Times (12/1/99). A disillusioned science teacher turned creationist, Ham opposes the theory of evolution. He proposes instead a literal reading of the first chapter of the Book of Genesis: God created the world in six days.

When an art form starts to reflect upon itself, does the borrowing indicate maturity or senescence? I don’t know. Film artists have copied one another since the very earliest comics in the silents realized that audiences loved chase scenes and so tried to outdo their rivals with ever more fran

As the seat of the nation's government, Washington, D.C., should serve as a model city in the care of its poorer residents - but in fact its record is bad. In at least one low-income neighborhood, however, an idea of what can happen when a community pulls together has assumed concrete form. The

Visitors to the American Bible Society’s New Media Bible Web site (http://www.newmediabible.org) will discover an innovative way of encountering the Bible. The product of several years of work, this prototype Web site presents the parable of the Good Samaritan (Lk. 10:25-37) in streaming video

Fitting TributeA brilliant star, Richard A. McCormick, S.J., illuminated the galaxy of moral theology in the 20th-century United States as no other (Signs of the Times, 2/26). His notes on moral theology over the years were eagerly devoured by opinion leaders in church and state. He shone as a fair-

Located 80 miles east of Havana on Cuba’s northern coast, the city of Cárdenas, from which young Elián Gonzalez comes, is a relatively poor but bustling and friendly town of some 40,000one of those places where you instantly sense that everyone knows everyone else. It’s a place of huma

Father Bill Foley, a Jesuit pediatrician who lives down the hall from me, has often struck me as one of the most intrepid men I’ve known. Even when he proposed to me that I accompany him and six others on a journey to Iraq over the Christmas holidays, I was somewhat awestruck by his boldness a

While the Super Bowl is a distant memory (in the age of day-trading, instant e-mails and online newspapers, anything that took place more than a month ago is a distant memory), it is by no means too late to talk about a book and a man intimately connected to championship football games.

Call to Renewal Announces Covenant Targeting PovertyRepresentatives of more than 50 multidenominational, faith-based service and policy groups organized as Call to Renewal announced a Covenant to Overcome Poverty at a rally on the steps of the U.S. Capitol on Feb. 16. At a time of record prosperity,

The 20th century has concluded. Thomas Merton remains the single most influential American Catholic spiritual author of that century. Judging from the number of current publications by and about Merton, his spiritual vision remains as captivating today as when he broke upon the scene in 1948 with hi

I’m probably the only person who has kept track, but I wish to announcewith a good measure of reliefthat I have survived my first year on staff at America. I’m reminded of the promo line from the old Superman television show, describing our eponymous hero as "faster than a speeding bullet." I don’t mean that the year has literally flown, by any means. Rather, it seems as if I’ve been swept along on a supersonic jet that never stops for refueling! The pace of a weekly schedule, consistent deadlines, is a world away from the process of getting books published. But one adjusts.

What has been a real challenge is the return to life as a mass-transit commuter. It took me the better part of the first two monthsafter trial and error, watching how others "do" it, taking a wrong train home on day one, trying one of these and one of those (MetroCards, that is, in endless "variety") before finding which worked at the best price. Finally, I "arrived"; I’m a veteran commuter once again, a bus and subway rider like hundreds of thousands in the New York metropolitan area.

It’s funny, but no matter how many years one has been away, time (and people) seem to stand still. After I got back into the system, it was suddenly the same: the sights, the fights; the shoving, the crowding; the working, the drowsing; the CD’s, the cell phoneswell, maybe not the latter as much. Then there’s the entertainment. Musicians and singers still perform on many subway platforms. In recent weeks, though, commuters on my train have been soothed by the strains of Stravinsky (courtesy of a blind violinist). No one can call New Yorkers dull.

The occasional underground entertainment notwithstanding, being part of America’s editorial team, and having such an intellectually stimulating group with whom to work, is the best reason for returning to mass transit. Apart from the expected proofreading (which, though sometimes demanding, can also turn into an "Eye Spy" contest in house), editing assignments and weekly editorial meetings, there is the matter of booksboth those for review in the magazine and titles selected for the Catholic Book Club, which this office oversees in concert with the editors.

I think having spent a full year now at America qualifies me to give you the real scoop about working here. If not, please at least indulge me on my first anniversary. Presuming there is some interest among our readers for "lists"the best and worstI offer below a sampling of each. I’ve deliberately not numbered the lists, because their ranking changes from day to day. Anyway, here goes:

The Worst

not being given enough magazine space for book reviews

In June 13, 1996, Archbishop Geraldo Majella Agnelo, a Brazilian who was at that time Secretary of the Vatican’s Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments, praised and encouraged the work of the International Commission on English in the Liturgy, commonly known as ICEL.

I remember the darkened church, filled with a reverent silence interrupted only when an opened door allowed the sounds of traffic and voices to intrude momentarily. A heavy slam of varnished wood signaled the arrival of the next worshiper, who checked her name on the list and tapped the weary should

 Savoring DiscoveriesThrough the pages of America magazine, where I found him so often, may I pay tribute to Richard A. McCormick, S.J., a universal theologian and close personal friend (Signs of the Times, 2/26)? As a moral theologian he was a genius at achieving clarity with brevity, a master