Remembering Assisi After 20 Years
Twenty years ago, Pope John Paul II convened what has become one of the more significant symbolic and substantive events of his eventful pontificate. On Oct. 26, 1986, the participants in the World Day of Prayer for Peace gathered under an overcast and sometimes rainy sky in Assisi, Italy, “to
Witnessing by Prayer
Twenty-seven years after Pope John XXIII announced to the cardinals that he would call an ecumenical council, another pope announced that he would consult with world religious leaders to organize with them a special meeting of prayer for peace, in the city of Assisi. Pope John Paul II chose the same
The Fertile Universe: An Interview With George V. Coyne
What is the status of the Big Bang theory today?
Of Many Things
Of Many Things
"It’s a monsoon out there.” Our rain-soaked superior had just come in from one of the ferocious spring storms that beset New York. I quoted his words in this column in our March 24, 2003 issue. It was our only reference to him in America during all the years he lived here. As import
Letters
Letters
Justice for All
On behalf of the bishops of the California Catholic Conference I wish to respond to the article in America by Marci A. Hamilton (9/25), who is both an attorney for plaintiffs suing the Catholic Church and a professor at Yeshiva University Law School. The full response to her article can be found at…
Editorials
National Security Debate
As we approach the November midterm Congressional elections, most of official Washington has gone into recess. In the final weeks of campaigning, both the White House and the Congress have turned their attention from policy to politics. Those who take an idealistic view of the democratic process mig
Faith in Focus
Dons Last Mass
I had very mixed feelings driving to Mass a few Sundays ago. The pastor of the church I had been attending for years was retiring, and this would be his last Mass there. I was trying to feel happy for Father Don; he deserved to be free of the administrative duties of a pastor. I…
Books
Guilty Bystander
The distinguished political scientist and historian Jan Gross nails the title of his book with one word fear This is not the first time In 2001 he did the same with Neighbors another one-word title dripping with irony because the book told the story of the July 1941 gruesome murder of the Jew
An Event to Experience
As the generation that fought World War II began to pass from the scene a proliferation of memoirs oral histories and similar works appeared with the aim of communicating to a generation that had not witnessed it the experience and importance of the event Something like that is happening now tha
The Lessons They Teach
When Michael Dirda took this summer off discerning readers of The Washington Post Book World were most likely disappointed They enjoy Dirda rsquo s erudite yet accessible reviews each Sunday The range of Dirda rsquo s interests and the breadth and depth of his literary knowledge are quite impress
The Word
Following Jesus on the Way
For the last six Sundays we have been on a journey with Jesus and his disciples going from northern Galilee toward Jerusalem The journey started with the healing of a blind man who only gradually came to see Mark 8 22-26 Along the way we have read surprising texts about a suffering Messiah gre
Columns
Resurrection Politics
Can religion play a constructive role in politics? Since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, religion has a bad name as a driving force in politics. It is not hard to see why. From Al Qaeda’s terror campaign to the Arab-Israeli conflict, killing in the name of God is a growth enterprise.
Current Comment
Current Comment
Witness of MercyNickel Mines, a small farming town in Lancaster County, Pa., has been a place of both human grief and divine grace this month. The horrific killings of five young Amish girls, who were captured, bound and then shot by a deranged man who burst into the town’s one-room schoolhous
News
Signs of the Times
2008 World Synod of Bishops Will Focus on BiblePope Benedict XVI has scheduled a meeting of the World Synod of Bishops for 2008 and has decided the synod will focus on the Bible in the life of the church. A brief announcement issued on Oct. 6 said bishops from around the world elected to represent…
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