F. Scott Fitzgerald was not a favorite of America’s editors for many years, but they all read ‘Gatsby.’ Everyone reads ‘Gatsby.’
Catholic Book Club
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Book Club
Seven decades in the classroom: The teaching legacy of Ladislas Orsy, S.J.
In a long life as a priest, teacher and scholar, Ladislas Orsy, S.J., left an impressive legacy at his death last week at the age of 103.
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Book Club
‘Only baseball and love are eternal.’ Reflections on our national pastime
Sports hasn’t always been the most popular topic among America’s editors and contributors—unless it was the Grand Old Game, baseball.
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Book Club
Remembering Flannery O’Connor (and her contributions to America magazine) on her 100th birthday
Perhaps no author’s name has appeared in ‘America’ more often than Flannery O’Connor’s over the years, from a 1956 editorial through to a story just last week.
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Book Club
Author Pat Conroy’s message for struggling Catholics: ‘I left the Church but she has not left me.’
Pat Conroy was the epitome of the “Southern Writer” for many years and called by some “the most beloved American writer of his generation”—and was also a God-haunted Catholic who wrote often and deeply about religious faith.
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Book Club
Catherine Mowry LaCugna’s feminist theology of the Trinity inspired a generation
Catherine Mowry LaCugna, who died in 1997 at only 44 years of age, brought new life to Trinitarian theology and inspired a generation of scholars.
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Book Club
Saints, souls and spirituality: Remembering theologian Larry Cunningham
Lawrence “Larry” Cunningham, a longtime professor of theology at Notre Dame University and a well-known writer on spirituality, sainthood and more, died on Feb. 20, 2025.
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William Stringfellow: The modern prophet who helped hide Daniel Berrigan from the FBI
Throughout his life, William Stringfellow was the modern incarnation of an Old Testament prophet, calling out lies and hypocrisy and demanding fidelity to the commandments of God.
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Al Smith and the first Catholic run at the White House
A century ago, Al Smith was a force in American politics—and the first Catholic to mount a major run at the White House. And if he is to be believed, he didn’t know what an encyclical was.
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Book Club
R.I.P. John Coleman, S.J., distinguished sociologist (and parish priest)
One of the nation’s most distinguished sociologists for many years and an expert on the relationship between religion and public life, the Rev. John A. Coleman died on Jan. 17, 2025 in Los Gatos, Calif., at the age of 87.