Friends and colleagues remembered Richard Gaillardetz, who died on Tuesday, as a perceptive theologian, mining in his talks, articles and books the ecclesiology of Vatican II and Pope Francis’ vision for the church. They also noted the powerful witness of his reflections on his final months of life.
James T. Keane
James T. Keane is a Senior Editor at America.
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Book Club
Alice McDermott’s place in the canon of great Catholic novelists
Alice McDermott is back with her ninth novel, joining the elite Catholic company of Graham Greene, Evelyn Waugh, Walker Percy and Flannery O’Connor.
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Book Club
Supernatural or superstitious? Looking back at ‘The Exorcist’
Five decades ago, ‘The Exorcist’ proved to be a box office juggernaut—and caused America’s editors to devote a special issue to the film.
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Book Club
James Dickey, America’s ‘bare-chested bard’
James Dickey’s public persona of fighter pilot, champion athlete and hard-drinking woodsman who wrote of “country surrealism” gave him an everyman appeal, even as he was perhaps the nation’s greatest poetic talent.
Posted inFaith, Scripture Reflections
A bloodier version of Catholicism than you might be used to
A reflection for the Memorial of Sts. John de Brébeuf and Isaac Jogues, Priests, and Companions, Martyrs, by James T. Keane
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Book Club
Holy sinners and doubting saints: The fiction of Brian Moore
Despite his public antipathy toward Catholicism, a number of Brian Moore’s novels dealt subtly and deftly with the profound emotional impact of struggles with faith.
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Book Club
A sense of wonder: Remembering Brian Doyle
Brian Doyle’s essays, fiction and poetry all offered powerful reflections on finding the beautiful and the divine amid life’s struggles.
Posted inArts & Culture, Books
Who was S. J. Adamo? This priest-columnist spilled all the tea.
The Rev. S. J. Adamo wrote over 130 columns for America on “The Press,” and seemingly had plenty of fun along the way.
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Book Club
Is it moral to watch football? Here’s what America magazine said over the years
A spate of football injuries—and news that the longterm effects of the game can be catastrophic for the human brain—raise the question: What is the future of football?
Posted inArts & Culture, Books
The atheist author Jesuits loved: Iris Murdoch
Iris Murdoch might seem like an unlikely candidate for praise from America reviewers, but her philosophical novels about love and alienation earned many praise-filled reviews over the years.