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May 23, 2005

Vol. 192 / No. 18

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The precious Catholic Church in the United States is in trouble. This is not news, of course, to anyone who has watched a newscast or read an American newspaper within the past few years. When I moved from Denver to the Netherlands a year ago, I did not know what to expect, but I was certain things

In May 2003, the city of Oakland, Calif., had already reached its 44th homicide of the year. At one intersection three young men were tending a shrine set up to remember their friend, killed in a drive-by shooting. The shrine consisted of a picture of the deceased from much earlier school days, ciga

Jim McDermottMay 23, 2005

At its annual convention in the year 2000, the National Association of Pastoral Ministers celebrated both its 25th anniversary and the retirement of its founder, the Rev. Virgil Funk. The occasion was marked with a special evening of songs by composers instrumental in the development of liturgical m

Maria LeonardMay 23, 2005

For several days I had noticed colorful floats lined up in Zahal Square near City Hall in Jerusalem. Large painted plastic figures of men and women dressed as kibbutzim with tools and tractors were surrounded by fruits, vegetables, trees, flowers, grasses, greenery and barley sheavesall in readiness

Letters
May 23, 2005

Food for Contemplation

Please convey my gratitude and appreciation to James Martin, S.J., for editing What Should the Next Pope Do? (4/25). The compilation from various knowledgeable individuals made me realize the importance of the Second Vatican Council. Curial officials doing hard

Editorials
The EditorsMay 23, 2005

It would be foolish to pretend that in the wake of the announcement of the departure of Thomas J. Reese, S.J., as editor in chief of America, the past weeks have not been turbulent ones for the editors and staff, for many of our readers and for others as well who are concerned about the Catholic Chu

Faith in Focus
Richard BaumanMay 23, 2005

As a youngster, I wondered why there always seemed to be so many old people in church. A few kids and younger adults attended Mass every morning, but most in the church were really old - 50 and above. We cynical teenagers speculated that older folks came to church so often because they were bored ju