‘We’re the original hippies!” Father Bernard broke into a mischievous grin, white teeth flashing in the spring afternoon sun. We were talking about the Trappist lifestyle: four hours of manual labor six days a week to earn enough to support the community; the rest of the time spent
From late January to June as the sexual abuse scandal raged across the nation and ravaged the church Catholics looking for a silver lining noted that the crisis had united erstwhile opponents in the Catholic culture wars With the bishops serving as convenient whipping boys for liberals and conser
The debate over the compatibility of wealth and democracy is as old as the republic With this truism author and political commentator Kevin Phillips begins Wealth and Democracy From the start we have no doubt where the author stands on that issue Extreme inequalities of wealth he is certain end
The authorial tone of this delightful memoir is captured nicely in its subtitle ldquo A Baseball Valentine rdquo for its spirit as in a billet-doux reflects affection gratitude and recollection of the sweeter memories The main title The Last Commissioner coined by George Vecsey a sports rep
We spend so much of life waiting As children we could hardly wait for birthdays free days and holidays we could hardly wait to grow up Now as adults we wait for buses and trains we wait in doctors rsquo offices and government agencies we wait for our turn on the golf course or the tennis c
Talk of war faded from the American conversation as midterm elections approached, but now that the campaign is over and Republicans are in firm control of Congress, we can expect a return to all war, all the time on the news networks and political talk shows. The producers and hosts, of course, will
Bishops Approve Revised Norms and Charter With Zero ToleranceThe United States Conference of Catholic bishops on Nov. 13 overwhelmingly approved revised norms to deal with removal from ministry of any priest or deacon who has sexually abused a minor. By a vote of 246 to 7 they adopted the new docume