From Our Archives

This year marks the 40th anniversary of Nostra Aetate, the document from the Second Vatican Council that outlined the church’s relations with the great non-Christian religions in light of a renewed theology. The declaration was the first systematic, positive and comprehensive presentation ever

The things they brought with them to the convent did not belong to them. They came from other people’s lives:

On Feb. 21 the Vatican issued the most authoritative papal statement on the church and communications in nearly 50 years. Addressed to those responsible for communications, Pope John Paul II’s apostolic letter Rapid Development (Il Rapido Sviluppo) stirred a ripple of interest at first, but wa

Mark Twain said that history does not repeat itself, but it rhymes. The sexual abuse scandal that continues to echo throughout the church in America, as evidenced by the recent controversy over the decision to allow Cardinal Bernard Law to preside at one of the memorial Masses for Pope John Paul II

As May 2005 approached, the country noted a painful anniversary. In the spring of 1975 Saigon fell to the Viet Cong. The images still horrify. The memory remains too sad. Any healing thoughts are of the Vietnamese peoplethe millions killed and maimed but grieved, those who were on our side and were

It is clear that the Catholic Church has a moral position on abortion. It is not clear that it has a political policy on the issue. Moral positions do not automatically create public policies. I may be morally opposed to the use of addictive drugs, but I may also think that the U.S. public policy of

The sympathetic response of Americans to the death of Pope John Paul II might suggest that the sexual abuse crisis in the United States has not harmed the reputation of the church, and that trust in its leadership remains strong. The public’s high regard for Pope John Paul II and the love of C