Columns

The plane touched down in Las Vegas. Neither my friend nor I had much of a clue about camping; so along with the tent, the sleeping bags and the backpacks, we had with us all kinds of things that might come in useful. We could hardly move beyond the carousel. In fact that Hercules transporter you ma

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

Five miles from my living room, in a world about which I know very little, men and women are gathering in a public space in downtown Newark, N.J., to commemorate the 40th anniversary of a riot. The city of Newark exploded 40 years ago this month. It exploded because of a rumora cabdriver, it was sai

The graduation season is finally over. All over the country young people have completed their studies and received the diplomas that, they hope, will unlock a future of their choosing. In Britain the ritual of graduation involves the donning of graduation hoods and gowns (hired at great expense for

No one would choose to live without friends, even if he had all other goods. Rich people and holders of powerful positions seem to need friends…. In poverty also, and in other misfortunes, people think friends are the only refuge. —Aristotle, NicomacheanEthics, Book VII Having heard so m

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

Nearly 30 years have passed since I very innocently asked one of my parish priests, the Rev. Maurice Burke, why Northern Ireland was a killing zone. I was a young reporter at the time, assigned to write a story about this foreign place that, frankly, meant very little to me. I knew one of my grandparents had been born in Ireland, but beyond that, I knew nothing besides the story of St. Patrick and the snakes.