The combination of religious faith and prophetic political action that marked César Chávez’s hunger strikes would become typical of many other moments in his long career as a labor organizer turned American icon.
James T. Keane
James T. Keane is a Senior Editor at America.
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Book Club
The mystery of Thomas Merton’s death—and the witness of America magazine’s poetry editor
John Moffitt, the longtime poetry editor of ‘America,’ met Thomas Merton the week Merton died, and wrote of the account for ‘America.’
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Book Club
The unexpected connection between J. D. Salinger, Swami Vivekananda and the poetry editor of America magazine
John Moffitt, the poetry editor of America, was also a regular correspondent with everyone from famous Hindu swamis to J. D. Salinger to Thomas Merton.
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Book Club
Shusaku Endo, ‘Silence’ and the challenges of Christian life in Japan
Shusaku Endo may not have liked the title “greatest Japanese Catholic novelist,” but his works—including ‘Silence’—are powerful meditations on the nature of belief and the vitality and viability of Christianity.
Posted inArts & Culture, Books
Review: The invitation to everyday holiness found in spiritual memoirs
In ‘Our Hearts Are Restless: The Art of Spiritual Memoir,’ Richard Lischer explores classics of “an intimate genre, perhaps the most intimate.”
Posted inFaith, Short Take
60 years after JFK, another American Catholic president visits a changed Ireland
When J.F.K. visited Ireland in 1963, both Ireland and Irish-Americans celebrated the occasion. The visit of President Joe Biden this week inspired similar feelings—but in a situation far different.
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Book Club
Comedy is born of tragedy in the Irish memoir ‘Did Ye Hear Mammy Died?’
Seamas O’Reilly mines a family tragedy for mirth and good storytelling in ‘Did Ye Hear Mammy Died?’ James T. Keane offers his thoughts on this latest selection for the Catholic Book Club.
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Book Club
Henri de Lubac, the Bruce Springsteen of Catholic theology
Henri de Lubac, S.J., had a long career filled with many twists and turns—but he is recognized today as one of the giants of 20th-century Catholic theology.
Posted inFaith, Scripture Reflections
Why do Christians have so little to say about Holy Saturday?
A Reflection for Holy Saturday, At the Easter Vigil in the Holy Night of Easter, by James T. Keane
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Book Club
Jesuits…in space! Looking back on Catholic coverage of the cosmos
Finding our place in the cosmos—whether that be via moon landings or our human origins in stardust—has been the subject of more than a few America articles.