Thomas Merton’s classic memoir was published 70 years ago.
Vantage Point
Posted inFaith, Vantage Point
A brief history of the Jesuits of Baghdad
July 17 marks the 50th anniversary of the coup d’etat in Iraq that brought the Baathist party to power.
Posted inFaith, Vantage Point
Pentecost, 1948: One woman’s ministry in a Siberian prison camp
Juzefa Maciokiene recalls her ministry to her fellow prisoners 50 years ago, when she served them—to use her word and theirs—as their priest.
Posted inPolitics & Society, Vantage Point
Fr. Daniel Berrigan’s and the ‘Catonsville Nine’ colloquy continues to offer hope today
On May 17, 1968, nine Catholic peace activists burned draft files in an act of protest against the Vietnam War. This excerpt from America’s report of the trial (10/26/68) relates a “most unusual colloquy” between the defendants and the judge.
Posted inArts & Culture, Vantage Point
A short history of the Passion narrative and how it’s used to justify anti-Semitism
In liturgically celebrating the truth and power of the passion narratives, however, we must be equally energetic in proclaiming, as did Pope John Paul II on the Auschwitz anniversary: “Never again anti-Semitism!”
Posted inPolitics & Society, Vantage Point
The Legacy of John Paul II
Long before Pope Francis earned the nickname, St. John Paul II was known as “the people’s pope.” St. John Paul II recognized the value of modern travel and mass media in spreading the Gospel and a global message of good will.
Posted inFaith, Vantage Point
Will Lent resonate with Americans open to Dry January, juice cleanses and CrossFit?
‘Lent may once again don its public mask’: America’s editors from 1978 on an American Lent.
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Living into Mystery: Karl Rahner’s Reflections on his 75th Birthday
“The center of my theology? Good Lord, that can’t be anything else but God as mystery and Jesus Christ, the crucified and risen One, as the historical event in which this God turns irreversibly toward us in self-communication.”
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In solidarity with the slain Jesuits of El Salvador
Joseph A. O’Hare, S.J., former editor in chief of America, gave this homily at a memorial Mass for the Jesuits slain Jesuits at St. Ignatius Church in New York on Nov. 22, 1989.
Posted inFaith, Vantage Point
Dissent, Now & Then: Thomas Weinandy and the meaning of Jesuit discernment
Father Weinandy surely wrote his letter out of a heartfelt desire to help the church. But in doing so, he belied a misunderstanding of one of the basic elements of Pope Francis’ teaching.