In their new book ldquo The Grand Design rdquo Stephen Hawking and co-author Leonard Mlodinow provide a theory that attempts to answer the question ldquo How did the universe begin rdquo The answer Well it rsquo s definitely not God In ldquo A Brief History of Time rdquo Hawking allowed
Kerry Weber
Kerry Weber joined the staff of America in October 2009. Her writing and multimedia work have since earned several awards from the Catholic Press Association, and in 2013 she reported from Rwanda as a recipient of Catholic Relief Services' Egan Journalism Fellowship. Kerry is the author of Mercy in the City: How to Feed the Hungry, Give Drink to the Thirsty, Visit the Imprisoned, and Keep Your Day Job (Loyola Press) and Keeping the Faith: Prayers for College Students (Twenty-Third Publications). A graduate of Providence College and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, she has previously worked as an editor for Catholic Digest, a local reporter, a diocesan television producer, and as a special-education teacher on the Navajo reservation in Arizona.
Posted inFrom Our Archives
The Talking Cure: Eboo Patel promotes interfaith dialogue as a defense against anti-Islamic prejudice.
The subject line of the e-mail read: “Ten reasons Muslims can’t be Americans.” The young Christian woman, who had received the chain message from a fellow member of a church committee, knew the content of the e-mail was full of lies. She chose to respond—kindly, respectfully—with the truth. As she typed her reply she drew on her experience working at the Interfaith Youth Core. As an intern with the organization she collaborated with Muslims on a daily basis, befriended Muslims, and participated in dialogue and service with them. She clicked “send” and hoped for the best.
Posted inIn All Things
Eboo Patel on Park51, Catholic Colleges, and Educated Bigotry in America
Earlier this summer I spoke with Eboo Patel co-founder of the Interfaith Youth Core nbsp about the importance of interfaith dialogue at Catholic universities The Core works to provide the tools and support college students need to become leaders in this dialogue and to work together to build conn
Posted inIn All Things
Notre Dame’s iPad Experiment
The students enrolled in the Project Management class at the University of Notre Dame are carrying one less heavy book this semester They ll still have to read the usual textbook Project Management in Practice but only after the electronic version has been downloaded to their new iPads The unive
Posted inIn All Things
Park51 Controversy Echoes Anti-Catholicism of Another Era
An interesting article from CNS highlights the similarities between the backlash against the building of Park 51 and the prejudice of 19th-century Nativists The controversy over plans to build an Islamic cultural center and mosque a couple of blocks away from ground zero in New York is but the late
Posted inIn All Things
The Benedictines’ Casket Controversy
It s nearly impossible to argue that the Benedictine monks of St Joseph Abbey in Louisiana should not be allowed to sell their simple handmade wooden caskets Unless of course you re a funeral director concerned about your own profits According to CNS Louisiana law allows only licensed funera
Posted inIn All Things
Catholic School May Relocate to Better Serve the Poor
The neighborhood surrounding the Nativity Mission Center a Jesuit-run middle school on Manhattan s Lower East Side has undergone significant changes over the past few decades Increasing gentrification has resulted in positive changes like fewer worries about prostitutes or neighborhood drug deal
Posted inIn All Things
Cost of Papal Visit is Cause for Debate (and Souvenir Sales)
There s been some debate in the U K over who should pay for the upcoming papal visit According to the BBC nbsp The total bill for the invited visit mdash without the cost of police and security mdash is estimated by the Foreign Office to be about pound 15m Of this pound 7m will come from t
Posted inIn All Things
Catholic Charities of New Orleans in Need of Funds to Help Fishermen
During my travels to New Orleans this past June I saw first-hand the good work that Catholic Charities of New Orleans is doing to help those affected by the oil spill in the Gulf including Chris Nelhig the fisherman pictured at right Catholic Charities has provided food rent assistance and cou