From the church to the public stage, Aretha Franklin earned her respect

by Anthea Butler August 21, 2018

In the patriarchal spaces of the music world as well as the church world, Aretha Franklin demanded respect for her talents and her work.

Pope Francis delivers a blessing from his studio window overlooking St. Peter's Square at the Vatican on Aug. 5. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia File)

Faith, Last Take

Will priests bring Pope Francis’ death penalty message to people in the pews?

by William K. Reilly August 13, 2018

A former head of the E.P.A. warns that the pope’s message on the death penalty, like his message on the environment, may not make it to the pews.

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Faith, Last Take

Evangelization isn’t getting people to fall in line—it’s getting them to fall in love

by Stephen P. White August 9, 2018

Immorality destroys the Gospel; sin—yours and mine—is precisely what puts people in the field hospital to begin with.

Arts & Culture, Last Take

The Jesuit and the Shot Heard ’Round the World

by Edward W. Schmidt, S.J. August 9, 2018

Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie were shot by Gavrilo Princip, a Bosnian Serb, while riding in a limousine through Sarajevo on June 28, 1914.

Faith, Last Take

In order to better heal those they serve, doctors must first deal with their own suffering

by Thomas W. McGovern July 27, 2018

Patients and doctors are allies separated by a common language: suffering. Patients suffer because of their diseases, because of their feelings of alienation within a technocratic medical system and because their experience is ignored in our society that often believes the best way to get rid of suffering is to get rid of the sufferer. […]