President Joe Biden’s decision not to seek re-election is surprising—but don’t call it unprecedented. It happened once before, in 1968.
James T. Keane
James T. Keane is a Senior Editor at America.
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Book Club
You’re reading this online. Walter Ong had thoughts about that.
The contributions of Walter J. Ong, S.J., to American letters are countless, and he remains a renowned figure in the study of communications, literacy, group psychology and mass media.
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Book Club
John Gregory Dunne, the ‘Irish brawler’ who explored the nation’s soul
John Gregory Dunne had a unique ability in his writing—fiction or not—to show the saintly and the sinner all at once.
Posted inExplainer, Faith
Explainer: Archbishop Viganò excommunicated himself. What does that mean?
Friday’s announcement that Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò had incurred a ‘latae sententiae’ excommunication sent many reporters (and more than a few Catholics) looking for some clarity. Here’s what you need to know.
Posted inFaith, Scripture Reflections
You really don’t need all that stuff.
A Reflection for the Memorial of St. Benedict, abbot, by James T. Keane
Posted inExplainer, Faith
Vandalizing religious art isn’t defending the church. It’s sacrilege.
Vandalizing another culture’s sacred art is not a heroic act. It is an example of resistance to inculturation, part of the process by which the faith has become rooted in disparate cultures throughout history.
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Book Club
Why we miss Tom Wolfe in the Trump-Biden era
Tom Wolfe would have loved to write about a debate between a billionaire former president who is also a convicted felon and an octogenarian sitting president whose public mental lapses are vociferously denied by many of his own confidantes.
Posted inFaith, Faith and Reason
These African theologians are all in on the synod—and want to make it a permanent part of the church
A gathering of scholars last week in Nairobi focused on the theological foundations of synodality and the contributions of African theologians to the synodal process.
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Book Club
Fooling Hitler: Illustrator John Hapgood and the ‘Ghost Army’ of WW2
The longtime ‘America’ illustrator John Hapgood served in World War II in the “Ghost Army,” a unit dedicated to deception and trickery that ran 21 different ersatz military campaigns between D-Day and the surrender of Germany in May 1945.
Posted inFaith, Short Take
Sister Mary Catherine Hilkert honored for ‘incomparable’ contributions to theology by CTSA
The Catholic Theological Society of America honored Mary Catherine Hilkert, O.P., with the John Courtney Murray Award, its highest honor, this past weekend in Baltimore.