They should call it trip or treat, our 4-year-old quips, struggling with the tail of her hand-me-down mermaid costume, while her baby brother trips over his duck costume. More safety pins to the rescue, is my standard trip or treat fix-it. My husband prefers duct tape. I wish all solutions were as
Maryann Cusimano Love
Dr. Maryann Cusimano Love is an Associate Professor of International Relations in the Politics Department of The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. She is also a Fellow at the Commission on International Religious Freedom. She teaches graduate and undergraduate International Relations courses at Catholic University and the Pentagon, such as Security, Just Peace, Terrorism, Globalization, and The Problem of Sovereignty. Her recent books include Beyond Sovereignty: Issues for a Global Agenda (4th Edition, 2010), Morality Matters: Ethics and the War on Terrorism (forthcoming at Cornell University Press), and "What Kind of Peace Do We Seek?" a chapter on peacebuilding to appear in Notre Dame University's volume on The Ethics and Theology of Peacebuilding. She serves on the U.S. Catholic Bishops' International Justice and Peace Committee, the Advisory Board of the Catholic Peacebuilding Network, and the board of Jesuit Refugee Services.
Dr. Love lives on the Chesapeake Bay outside of Washington, DC, with her husband Richard and three young children, Maria, Ricky and Ava, who inspired her New York Times best-selling children's books, You Are My I Love You, You Are My Miracle, You Are My Wish, and Sleep, Baby, Sleep.
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A Postwar Program That Worked
We do not often hear success stories about foreign policy. After the Second World War, the United States did what victorious powers throughout history have rarely done. Rather than vanquishing and humiliating our defeated enemies at war’s end, we worked together to strengthen them and create a
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Colombia, an Unusual Poster Child: ‘The church’s peacebuilding work goes forward, bearing fruit.’
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid (John 14:27). Jesus commissions his disciples with these words at the Last Supper. But what does it mean to be called to be peacebuilders with Christ? Two hundred
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18 Months to Go
When will the United States draw down its troops occupying Iraq? In the political showdown between the president and the Congress over the war in Iraq, attention has focused on legislating a specific timetable for troop withdrawal. This issue will be revisited in September, when debate over war fund
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Broken Promises
Jesús is a 22-year-old Colombian who was forced from his home by the decades-old civil war. He and others in his village were captured by the paramilitaries in 2005. They were massed into a forced death march. At gunpoint, they were made to dig graves for the dead. Jesús said, I never knew when I
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A Risky Business
Global warming just got personal. Our neighbor is moving because of global warming. As the world warms, small degrees of temperature change bring changes in the weather. Ice caps melt, seas rise, weather patterns become less predictable, storms become more destructive, and coastal peoples and proper
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Cures for the Poor
Today we took our infant son to the doctor for his regular checkup and vaccinations. We do not relish these visits. We gang up on the baby; I restrain my son’s hands, my husband pins his legs, all so the nurse can administer four different vaccine shots. The baby screams, later becomes letharg
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Race in America
As Senator Barack Obama explores a presidential bid, media headlines across the country ask, Is America ready for an African-American president? Between 50 percent and 62 percent of Americans polled answer yes, that race is no longer a barrier in the United States. But that this is considered a news
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Peace on Earth
“Peace on earth is not just a holiday greeting. Every Jan. 1 the pope issues a message for the World Day of Peace, reminding us that peace is practical, peace is possible, and it is our calling. Peace is practical because it is foundational; without it, we cannot achieve other aims. Catholic Relief
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Kneeling at the Cradle
Last year as we set up our Nativity set, our then two-year-old daughter asked why so many of the figures were kneeling. Plopping baby Jesus in the manger, she quickly answered her own question, "Oh. To better see God." This year we have a newborn son in our home. And as we raid the rafters