The Feast of Christ the King is a relatively new feast It was first declared by Pope Pius XI in 1925 at a time of heightened nationalism and secularism Its biblical origins are very deep going back to the anointing of kings like David in ancient Israel as we hear in the opening reading In the N
Drew Christiansen
Drew Christiansen, S.J., served as the editor in chief of America from 2005 to 2012. He was a Distinguished Professor of Ethics and Human Development at Georgetown University and a senior fellow with the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs. He was co-editor with Carole Sargent of A World Free from Nuclear Weapons: The Vatican Conference on Disarmament (Georgetown, 2020).
Posted inIn All Things
The Gospel and the Rest
Given a choice between the spirit and the letter, Pope Francis is clear: he chooses the spirit.
Posted inFaith
Francis in ‘America’: A historic papal interview draws world-wide reaction
Editor’s note: The historic interview with Pope Francis (Am. 9/30) has generated a great deal of dialogue in the church and in society at large. We asked several writers to offer their reactions to the pope’s words. Selections from these responses are printed below. The full versions of
Posted inIn All Things
The People of God, At Long Last
Of the images of the church that emerged from the Second Vatican Council the people of God was the most important and the most popular For almost 20 years it was a constant in the Catholic vocabulary even entering into liturgy But from the beginning it was regarded as suspect The late Cardinal
Posted inIn All Things
Rescuing Syria
The videos of children and adults in the Damascus suburbs in convulsions and gasping for air after inhaling airborne nerve agents apparently dispersed in the Damascus suburbs on Aug 21 nbsp were a horror to watch If the U N Observers find that the casualties were indeed the results of banned chem
Posted inIn All Things
Bradley Manning and an American Tragedy
Judge Col Denise Lind sentenced Pfc Bradley Manning now nbsp Chelsea Manning today to 35 years in prison for offenses connected with his unauthorized release of government documents to WikiLeaks in 2009-10 when he was stationed in Iraq nbsp Reading his whole story I experience the emotions Ar
Posted inIn All Things
Falling Stars: Brother Jeffery Gros and Jean Bethke Elshtain, RIP
Mourning the death of two stars of church and academia.
Posted inIn All Things
Francis, the Ignatian Pope
nbsp Pope Francis has been the focus of much commentary for his Franciscan spirit his simplicity love of the poor and concern for nature There is also much in our new pope rsquo s style that demonstrates his Jesuit spirituality above all his freedom with respect to the traditional trappings of
Posted inFrom Our Archives
On the ‘Light of Faith’: First responses to ‘Lumen Fidei’
America invited several writers, theologians and church leaders to respond to Pope Francis’ first encyclical, “Lumen Fidei”, “The Light of Faith.” Visit www.americamagazine.org/light-faith for additional contributions.Knowing the One Whom We Love"Lumen Fidei,&rdquo
Posted inIn All Things
Personal Knowledge: A Footnote to an Encyclical
Pope Francis rsquo s first encyclical Lumen Fidei concluded that faith is ultimate grounded in love rsquo s knowledge of God in Christ Faith belongs to the order of interpersonal knowledge because God is personal ldquo It is love rdquo I wrote in my initial commentary ldquo that opens the eye