Reviving an ancient biblical practice for the Year of Mercy
The jubilee is an invitation to witness to the forgiveness rooted in the cross and resurrection.
Who Is He to Judge? Magisterial authority in the modern world
Even 50 years after “Gaudium et Spes,” the pitfalls about which Karl Rahner, S.J., prophetically warned loom as large as ever.
Singing About The Dark Times: A writer’s Advent journal
During Advent a few years ago, I composed meditations each morning on the day’s scriptural readings as I experienced the season. This Advent journal was my experiment, my practice as a writer and a seeker, to anchor myself before each day pulled me in all its directions. I began with Scripture
To fight terrorism, we must first try to understand its causes.
The theory of a “clash of civilizations” prevents us from understanding the reality of terrorism. It also leads us to wrong answers.
Of Many Things
Trump not the first to question “true” allegiances of Americans for political gain
Donald Trump’s claim that he witnessed cheering on Sept. 11 can mean one of only two things.
Letters
Reply All: Join the conversation
Out of the SpotlightRe “The Big Dig,” by Maurice Timothy Reidy (11/16): As a priest and native of Boston who happened to be visiting family there when The Boston Globe began its “Spotlight” coverage, I am not sure I will be watching this movie. I hope I am wrong, but I am wil
Editorials
How should we respond to ISIS? There are no easy choices, but a few bad examples
The perhaps most treacherous mistake in the aftermath of the Paris attacks is to be deceived by the glamour of retribution.
Faith in Focus
Under the Gun: New life after a home invasion
New life after a home invasion
Books
There’s No Business Like…
‘Joy Ride,’ by John Lahr
United in Death
‘We Are All Children of God,’ by Zacharie Bukuru
Music
Sinatra’s Century: The legacy of a tough guy with a heartbreaking voice
Sinatra invites us to participate in an act of the imagination in which we are aware of our limitations and yet, at the same time, believe that we are not defined by them.
Poetry
St. Brendan Celebrates
It is still Easter, though we are agroundthis monster’s back, tethered to its tail. This is still an island, as it rises in swells,falls in troughs, follows wanton tides. Still a mooring, a port enoughfor our feast. Our Lord is still risen. Still our hearts that burn and yielda
The Word
Prepare to Rejoice
The prophetic call to repent is a gift of forgiveness, an invitation to freedom, a promise of love.
Embrace the Smallness
A reflection for the Fourth Sunday of Advent
Columns
The Princess Next Door
Mila opened my eyes to stubbornness as a character trait.
Current Comment
You Were Once Aliens
The clear linking of the horrific terrorist attacks in Paris to Islamic State strongholds sparked a heated debate over whether to turn away Syrian refugees.
He Did Not Fear Death
To the end, John Schlegel, S.J., was teaching his public how to die well.
Georgetown serves as a model for confronting past tainted by slavery
Georgetown serves as a model for confronting past tainted by slavery
Faith
Christians must pave the way to peace
Like the streets, our common humanity connects each of us to the other.
Generation Faith
Christians must pave the way to peace
Like the streets, our common humanity connects each of us to the other.
Of Other Things
The pilgrim’s guide to life at 20-something
For many people my age, the luxury of choice can feel more like tyranny.
Signs Of the Times
Pornography Deplored
The U.S. bishops approved a statement on pornography on Nov. 17 at their fall general meeting in Baltimore. “Producing or using pornography is gravely wrong. It is a mortal sin if it is committed with full knowledge and deliberate consent,” said the approved version of “Create in M
‘Humane’ Executions?
Since 2006, there have been no executions in California, after a judge ruled that the state’s three-drug cocktail could constitute cruel and unusual punishment if one of the drugs failed to work. On Nov. 13 the state announced that it has developed a new “humane and dignified” meth
Mother Teresa To Be Canonized?
The Vatican calendar for the Year of Mercy deliberately set aside Sept. 4, 2016, as a possible date for the canonization of Blessed Teresa of Kolkata, if her sainthood cause is concluded by then, according to Federico Lombardi, S.J., the Vatican spokesperson. The canonization would be celebrated by
Terror No Reason to Abandon Refugees in Flight from Syria
In the aftermath of the Nov. 13 terror attacks in Paris, anxiety is understandable, said Bill Canny, executive director of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Office of Migration and Refugee Services. But governors and other politicians are not responding reasonably by calling for a &ldqu
‘Faithful Citizenship’ Challenged By Bishops
Though the quadrennial “Faithful Citizenship” statement was in the end approved during the U.S. bishops’ fall assembly in Baltimore, the normally pro forma vote included a surprise expression of discontent. Several bishops suggested rejecting it and starting over this year. Bishops
News Briefs
The holy doors of Rome’s four papal basilicas will be opened on Dec. 8, beginning the Holy Year of Mercy. • On Nov. 20 a palliative care facility in Quebec became the first to announce that it will be offering medically induced death as the Canadian province’s new end-of-life care l
The Saint of Laguna Beach’s homeless is nothing if not blunt.
“If a guy panhandles and you don’t have anything, you could at least respond to him like he’s not a piece of [excrement].”
Vatican Dispatch
The Votes Are In
There was one clear winner at this year’s post-synod elections: Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle.
Politics
Faith
Culture
Vatican
Scripture
Podcasts