From Our Archives

What does the typical American Catholic look like? Surveys conducted by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate tell us she is a 48-year-old, non-Hispanic white, married woman with a Catholic spouse. She is of the post-Vatican II generation (born between 1961 and 1981). Born in 1968, she i

Pope Francis opened the Synod of Bishops on the Family with a call for open and sincere discussion of challenges facing the family, and in many ways, the synod delivered that. Yet transcripts of the testimonies given by the half-dozen married couples chosen to speak at the synod reveal that the

Pope Francis has declared that the joy of the Gospel can help the world to overcome the globalization of indifference to others. Undoubtedly, he will bring this message when he visits the United States. But when he does, he will face a society in thrall to a different idea—that of the unaliena

Refugees and immigrants can be found all around the world. Some nations open their arms to them; others raise their fists. Some welcome them; others reject them and turn them away. Yet immigrants and refugees continue to arrive, seeking asylum, searching for security, wanting a decent life.When I se

Human dignity requires an inclusive democracy

April 30, 2015Santa Marta “History and service.” In his homily on Thursday morning, Pope Francis spoke about these “two traits of Christian identity.”Beginning with “history,” Pope Francis said Saint Paul, Saint Peter, and the other disciples “did not p

The Jesuits in American higher education have lost the principle of assignment. In its place, the principle of attraction has been at work since the 1970s. Previously, the superior of a Jesuit province would, after appropriate consultation, assign one of his men to a given college or university facu

In February Pope Francis installed 20 new cardinals. In keeping with the pope’s interest in moving the church “to the peripheries,” these new cardinals hail from all over the world, many from places we rarely hear mentioned in the U.S. press. Most are pastors who have worked with p

When I arrived at Fordham University in the fall of 2007, W. Norris Clarke, S.J., was reaching the end of more than 50 years of teaching there, where he was a great light in the study of Thomas Aquinas. In particular, Father Clarke focused his attention on what is known as personalist Thomism, a sch