The Scariest Gospel
For centuries, Mark’s Gospel shared the fate of Cinderella in the well-known German folktale. As Cinderella languished in the kitchen until rescued by her prince, Mark suffered almost total eclipse by its three longer fellows (Matthew, Luke and John). A century and a half ago, in scholarly cir
Of Many Things
Of Many Things
"Pas de vitesse," said our instructor in Italian-accented French. Then in English, "No rushing." I was one of several men being trained to work as a volunteer in the baths at Lourdes last month, and I was worried. This was my third visit to the French town of Lourdes, where the V
Letters
Letters
Missing Reference
I was astonished on reading your editorial The Worst of All Options (5/8), describing Iran’s nuclear future and American response options, to find not one mention of Israel. Given that nation’s multiplicity of actual and potential roles in this matter, the absence of reference to Israel is at best an intellectual sin of omission.…
Editorials
Women in Prison
Although the number of women prisoners is far smaller than the number of men, the rate of incarceration for women is rising at a much faster rate than for men. Over 200,000 women are now behind bars throughout the country, most of them African American and Hispanic. And according to the nonprofit Se
Features
Good News From Judas? Behind the newly popular gnostic text “The Gospel of Judas”
A New Testament Scholar demystifies the newly popular Gnostic text.
Spy Wednesday: Who was Judas and why did he do it?
Saints and theologians, not to mention authors and poets, have long debated this thorny question: Why did Judas do it? To answer that we need to know something about the man himself.
Faith in Focus
Dear Hearts Across the Seas: A Memorial Day Prayer
It is often said that war brings out the best and the worst in people. This is profoundly true. Men who in civilian life would not have crossed the street to help a stranger often fall in the effort to help near strangers. There are many good things to be remembered.
When Light Yields to Darkness
Years ago – before I had children – I spent several hours one evening on a friend’s deck in the Adirondacks sitting perfectly still, watching night come. My purpose was to be the one person on earth that day to witness the exact moment when night definitively arrived at one place, when darknes
Books
The Great Commoner
The historical reputation of William Jennings Bryan has not been a distinguished one He is ridiculed for losing three presidential elections He is often presented as a reactionary spokesman for a dying rural culture that resisted yielding to the progress of urbanization His opposition to American
Place of Refuge
With sensitivity and a strong sense of place first-time novelist Debra Dean vividly recreates one of the overlooked stories of World War II In the fall of 1941 with German troops preparing to invade Leningrad the Hermitage Museum staff frantically packs away over two million priceless items for
Global Social Networking
From the outset of this book Lisa Sowle Cahill professor of theology at Boston College draws a clear distinction between theological and secular bioethics but without ever clearly defining the distinctive nature of theological bioethics Since she has a number of goals for theological bioethics
Film
Falling Down, Falling Down: United 93
Plastic chairs and paper cups, laptops and cell phones: the depersonalizing symbols of air travel. Baseball hats and tee-shirts. Boarding passes spit out of machines at the beckoning of a credit card. The herding into lines by airport and airline personnel clearly bored with their jobs and annoyed b
Poetry
Meanwhile
A photocopy of my mother’s heart,
The Word
Pentecost Past and Present
Pentecost is one of the major dates in the church rsquo s calendar along with Christmas and Easter Our word Pentecost derives from the Greek word for 50 The feast occurs 50 days after Easter Pentecost was and is a Jewish festival celebrated in late spring 50 days after Passover Its biblical
Current Comment
Current Comment
Down on IslamSome years ago Cardinal Francis Arinze, then the president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, complained that the dialogue with Islam consisted largely of Catholic initiatives, and it was time for the church’s Muslim partners to bear responsibility too for th
Faith
Good News From Judas? Behind the newly popular gnostic text “The Gospel of Judas”
A New Testament Scholar demystifies the newly popular Gnostic text.
Spy Wednesday: Who was Judas and why did he do it?
Saints and theologians, not to mention authors and poets, have long debated this thorny question: Why did Judas do it? To answer that we need to know something about the man himself.
Dear Hearts Across the Seas: A Memorial Day Prayer
It is often said that war brings out the best and the worst in people. This is profoundly true. Men who in civilian life would not have crossed the street to help a stranger often fall in the effort to help near strangers. There are many good things to be remembered.
News
Signs of the Times
U.S. Bishops Urge Immigration ReformPresident George W. Bush’s address on May 15 about immigration reform received mixed reviews from advocates for immigrants, who expressed gratitude for his support of legalization for illegal immigrants but had concerns about his plan to deploy National Guar
Politics
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Culture
Vatican
Scripture
Podcasts