Gregory K. Hillis tackles an argument that has long haunted Thomas Merton’s legacy: that Merton somehow was not a faithful-enough Catholic.
Judith Valente
Judith Valente, a regular contributor to NPR and "Religion and Ethics Newsweekly," is a journalist, poet and essayist. She is the author of Atchison Blue: A Search for Silence, a Spiritual Home and a Living Faith, named best spirituality book in paperback for 2014 by the Catholic Press Association and one of the three best spirituality books by Religion Newswriters Association. Her book, The Art of Pausing, was runner up for the Catholic Press Association book award in 2014.
Ms. Valente began her work as a staff reporter for The Washington Post. She later joined the staff of The Wall Street Journal, reporting from that paper's Chicago and London bureaus. She was twice a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, first in the public service category as part of a team of reporters at The Dallas Times Herald in the 1980s. In 1993, she was a finalist for the Pulitzer in the feature writing category for her front page article in The Wall Street Journal chronicling the story of a religiously conservative father caring for his son dying of AIDS.
A theologian targeted by the Vatican defends religious pluralism
“The church as a whole, cannot grasp the vastness of God,” Peter Phan argues.
Chicago Remembers Gwendolyn Brooks, the first African-American to win a Pulitzer
Gwendolyn Brooks’ poetry presented readers with a look into the life of African-Americans.
Forget Washington. For budget dysfunction, look to Illinois.
The Illinois General Assembly ended its regular session on May 31 without passing a budget for the third year in a row. The length of the legislative stalemate is unprecedented.
Chicago Catholic high school students among those with stolen photos shared online
Illinois is one of about 35 states that have “revenge laws” that prohibit anyone from publicly disseminating intimate or embarrassing content about others without their consent.
Meet the women building a community of Christian writers
The women of the Redbird Writers Guild shared a common belief that writing with faithful trust can lead to transformation—their own and ultimately that of their readers.
Can a coloring book help heal Chicago’s racial divide?
Mr. Thompson, one of the first African-Americans hired by a major Chicago advertising agency, is on a crusade to convince people of all races that this is not a black or white matter. Human beings represent a range of color.
For one Chicago parish, Gregorian Chant resonates
With chant “you’re expressing something in pure melody.”
When sexual assault goes viral
What motivates assailants to brazenly post their crimes to Facebook?
Outgoing Chicago U.S. attorney bemoans gun violence, urges reform
In a five page “open letter,” Zachary Fardon traced problems in the city’s most troubled neighborhoods to neglect “rooted in ugly truths about power politics, race and racism.
