In her new book, ‘(R)evolutionary Hope: A Spirituality of Encounter and Engagement in an Evolving World,’ Kathleen Bonnette has brought St. Augustine’s philosophy into dialogue with 21st-century reality in ways that would impress even modern mindfulness gurus and internet pundits.
Arts & Culture
Posted inArts & Culture, Books
Review: What we’re talking about when we talk about ‘Western Civilization’
In ‘The West,’ Naoíse Mac Sweeney tackles the history of the idea of the West through 14 portraits of both famous (Herodotus and Gladstone) and lesser-known historical figures (Phillis Wheatley and Tullia d’Aragona).
Posted inArts & Culture, Books
Review: Judith Butler and the seismic shift in how we understand gender
In ‘Who’s Afraid of Gender?,’ Judith Butler contends that the contemporary backlash to “gender” is an attempt to recapture the transforming power structure and return to the (days when it was simple to use gender to organize power in the world.
Posted inArts & Culture, Books
Review: Theology and sexual trauma
In ‘Incarnating Grace: A Theology of Healing From Sexual Trauma,’ Julia Feder is not only concerned with rejecting dangerous theological projects that have misled (and mistreated) survivors; she is also keen to plumb the depths of the Christian tradition more positively, for resources that offer meaning, courage and hope.
Posted inArts & Culture, Music
A rare Jesuit opera inspired by St. Francis Xavier
The opera ‘San Xavier’ provides a glimpse of how Jesuits evangelized with music—a key dimension of the 1986 film “The Mission.”
Posted inArts & Culture, Books
What Pope Francis and Ivan Illich prioritize in common: Anti-clericalism, the Global South and the cry of the poor
Ivan Illich was a “radically orthodox” monsignor who remained tradition-minded his entire life. With Pope Francis, his hour may have finally arrived.
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Movie Club
Catholic Movie Club: Why do we glorify ‘The Godfather’?
The fact that audiences see the story as aspirational is more of a reflection on us as fallen people than the film itself.
Posted inArts & Culture, Dispatches
M.L.B. added Negro League statistics to official record books. Are we finally telling the full history of baseball?
Major League Baseball is finally incorporating stats recorded by Negro League players as part of M.L.B.’s official record books.
Posted inArts & Culture, News
What Frederick Douglass learned from an Irish antislavery activist: ‘Agitate, agitate, agitate’
Frederick Douglass traveled to Ireland after escaping slavery in the U.S. and there was inspired by the politics of Irish nationalist leader Daniel O’Connell.
Posted inArts & Culture, Ideas
What Pope Francis and Stephen Colbert know: Comedy is essential to a life of faith
The easiest way through the recognition of our sinfulness is through humor.