Father George Rutler S T D pastor of St Michael rsquo s Church in the Hell 39 s Kitchen neighborhood of New York City is a popular Catholic writer on historical and religious topics He is known for his provocative interpretations of world events often challenging popular myths from a spiritu
Sean Salai
Sean Salai is the author of What Would Pope Francis Do? Bringing the Good News to People in Need (Our SundayVisitor, 2016) and holds an M.A. in Applied Philosophy from Loyola University Chicago. He also holds a B.A. in History from Wabash College, which he attended on scholarship from the Indianapolis Star, and where as editor of the campus newsmagazine he won several Indiana Collegiate Press Association (ICPA) awards as well as a Wesley Pruden Investigative Journalism Award from the Leadership Institute in 2001. Before entering the Jesuits in 2005, he was a metro desk newspaper reporter for The Washington Times and the Boca Raton News, where his articles were picked up by the Drudge Report and other national media outlets. He taught theology and coached forensics at Jesuit High School of Tampa in 2010-2014.
His freelance writing has appeared in America, National Catholic Reporter, Catholic World Report, Busted Halo, Crisis Magazine, Civil War Book Review, Homiletic & Pastoral Review, the Magis Spirituality Center's Spiritual Exercises Blog and other publications. He has been a contributing editor on two reference works for the non-profit Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) and his academic writing has appeared in three publications including the Heythrop Journal. He won two scholarships for outstanding collegiate journalism from the Washington DC-based American Alternative Foundation in 2001 and 2002. He is a graduate of the Institute on Political Journalism at Georgetown University, the Leadership Institute’s Student Publications School in Virginia, the Collegiate Network Foreign Correspondent Course in Prague, and several other journalism programs. His prior internship experience included The Washington Times national desk and Policy Review magazine at the Heritage Foundation.
Posted inIn All Things
An Atheist Rebuts Mandated Contraception: Q&A with Elizabeth Nolan Brown
Elizabeth Nolan Brown is a Washington D C -based Staff Editor for the libertarian magazine Reason where she covers politics gender issues reproductive rights food and drug policy Gen Y and digital culture She was previously a writer and editor for the women 39 s health blog Blisstree com a
Posted inIn All Things
Catholic Films for the Fourth of July
Like many Americans I enjoy a good historical film on the Fourth of July But as a Catholic I sometimes have a hard time finding a movie on Independence Day that tells America rsquo s story from a Catholic perspective Many of our beloved July 4 classics retell American history from the victors rsq
Posted inFaith, Interviews
What’s it like to be gay and Catholic? An interview with Eve Tushnet
“There is a future for individual gay people in the Catholic Church that doesn’t require repression, or self-hatred, or being totally alone.”
Posted inIn All Things
The Year of Faith-Based Films
It rsquo s starting to feel like 2014 is the year of faith-based movies At the very least 2014 is the year Hollywood decided to court the Judeo-Christian film market for the first time in several years Although ldquo Son of God rdquo and ldquo Noah rdquo have received most of the box office an
Posted inIn All Things
Christopher Hitchens: The Last Good American Atheist
I asked the middle-aged man across from me ldquo Who was the last good American president rdquo It was the year 2000 As a 19-year old college journalist studying history and political science I was eager to know my drinking partner rsquo s response to this question He had just finished railing
Posted inIn All Things
U.S. Bishops: Hobby Lobby May Prove a Hollow Victory
With the Hobby Lobby case over U S Catholic bishops are now holding their breaths to see if the ruling will prove a hollow victory or extend to lawsuits brought by religious non-profits Archbishop Joseph F Naumann of Kansas City Kan a member of the U S bishops Secretariat for Pro-Life Ac
Posted inIn All Things
In God We Trust: Responding to the Hobby Lobby Ruling
We live in a fallen world Sometimes we Catholics trust our politicians to fix the miseries that surround us but we end up bitter and angry when they let us down Even in the United States where we celebrate the ideals of our political system on July 4 there are chinks in the armor of our m
Posted inIn All Things
The Theology of the Body Reconsidered
We live in a technological age that poses new challenges to the preaching of Gospel values An American teenager spends perhaps one hour a week in church if at all and many more hours playing video games surfing the Internet using social media watching TV and listening to music on a phone or i
Posted inFrom Our Archives
Lost Legion?: A troubled order works to reshape its identity—and regain trust
In recent years, U.S. Catholics have struggled to accept the harsh reality that some priests committed terrible acts even as they helped and worked alongside many good people.This struggle has been especially pronounced in the Legion of Christ, a congregation of priests that fell from the height of