Black Catholics bear witness to a gentrified Oakland
St. Columba began celebrating Black Catholic History Month and Kwanzaa alongside the regular events in the liturgical calendar.
Of Many Things
Buying my first house made me rethink what Pope Francis means by a “common home”
Pope Francis reminds us to challenge ourselves to each day give of ourselves and not to count the cost.
Editorials
The Year of Mercy is ending, but the work of mercy goes on.
As this year ends, it is crucial that we not shut the door—holy or otherwise—on the needs of those around us.
Faith in Focus
A Shrine for the Year of Mercy
Mary is always shining in her window, watching over the street below. I have grown grateful for this rarefied presence, respectful and inclined toward pious feelings when I pass.
Books
Nixon still casts his shadows over American politics.
As Nixon aged, Butterfield told Woodward, “instead of mellowing, the neuroses intensified and he lumped them all together.”
The death of Socrates—ritual sacrifice or deliberate rebellion?
In this most classic of philosophical tales, Socrates dies a death that has been the subject of so much speculation and controversy.
How Elizabeth I engaged with the Muslim world
The combination of religion and politics then, just as today, was reinforced in cultural practices.
Film
When simple people cause violent social change
“Loving” is film about a lot of things, including two simple people causing violent eruptions across the social and legal landscapes. It is a portrait of America at a particular time and place. So is “Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk.”
The Word
Stay Awake!
At an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come. (Mt 24:44)
Columns
What Canadian religious history can teach us about U.S. church attendance
Once grouped with the Irish and the Polish as a signally devout Catholic population, the citizens of Quebec are now quite the opposite.
Current Comment
Why Pope Francis updated the beatitudes
Blessed are those who look into the eyes of the abandoned and marginalized and show them their closeness.
Obama offers a welcome opportunity for de-escalation in Dakota pipeline stand-off
Americans might be forgiven if they thought they had put the great pipeline wars behind them with the abandonment of the giant Keystone XL.
Pregnancy centers should be able to operate without government interference.
What does it mean, as a medical provider, to participate in a procedure that you find morally objectionable?
Faith
A Shrine for the Year of Mercy
Mary is always shining in her window, watching over the street below. I have grown grateful for this rarefied presence, respectful and inclined toward pious feelings when I pass.
Buying my first house made me rethink what Pope Francis means by a “common home”
Pope Francis reminds us to challenge ourselves to each day give of ourselves and not to count the cost.
Tobin to Newark
The Vatican announced on Nov. 7 that Pope Francis has appointed Cardinal-designate Joseph Tobin, 64, as the new archbishop of Newark. At the time of his appointment, the Detroit-born archbishop was the leader of the archdiocese of Indianapolis, which he has served since October 2012. He now moves to
Stay Awake!
At an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come. (Mt 24:44)
Are Vietnam and the Vatican close to establishing diplomatic relations?
Relations between the Holy See and Vietnam are moving ahead in a positive way.
What Canadian religious history can teach us about U.S. church attendance
Once grouped with the Irish and the Polish as a signally devout Catholic population, the citizens of Quebec are now quite the opposite.
The Year of Mercy is ending, but the work of mercy goes on.
As this year ends, it is crucial that we not shut the door—holy or otherwise—on the needs of those around us.
Why Pope Francis updated the beatitudes
Blessed are those who look into the eyes of the abandoned and marginalized and show them their closeness.
Hope: The forgotten virtue of our time.
To live in hope is to want nothing less for ourselves than what God wants for us. If that were the fundamental desire of our lives, what would change? How would we be resurrected?
First Monday
These are the 5 legal theories that might finally end the death penalty
The Eighth Amendment prohibits “cruel and unusual punishment.”
Of Other Things
A recipe for recovering from a bruising election.
The last year has been a difficult one indeed, particularly for those who are in any way concerned about political life in the United States. As I write this column, the election has not yet taken place, though we are close to Election Day and early voting is already underway in many parts of the…
Signs Of the Times
News Briefs
The U.S. bishops were scheduled to concelebrate Mass at St. Peter Claver Church, the largest African-American Catholic congregation in Baltimore, on Nov. 14, the first day of their fall general assembly. • In advance of Black Catholic History Month in November, a delegation of black Catholic pr
Unaccompanied Minors Neglected As Calais Camp Is Demolished
The move to shut down the camp put further pressure on the British government to accept more of the refugees who have been piling up at Calais, especially the camp’s many unaccompanied children. Almost all the refugees had been hoping to make it to Britain. In mid-October, as the first young p
D.C. Affirms Assisted Suicide
This bill discriminates against our African-American and Hispanic neighbors, sick seniors, the disabled, the uninsured and all who are vulnerable in our community, said Michael Scott, director of the D.C. Catholic Conference.
Tobin to Newark
The Vatican announced on Nov. 7 that Pope Francis has appointed Cardinal-designate Joseph Tobin, 64, as the new archbishop of Newark. At the time of his appointment, the Detroit-born archbishop was the leader of the archdiocese of Indianapolis, which he has served since October 2012. He now moves to
Finally a President Is Elected in Lebanon
Cardinal Bechara Rai, patriarch of Maronite Catholics, welcomed the election of a new Lebanese president, ending a two-and-a-half-year power vacuum that had crippled the country’s government institutions.
Climate Accord Begins
The Paris Agreement to combat climate change went into effect on Nov. 4, a landmark deal to tackle global warming amid growing fears that the world is becoming warmer even faster than scientists expected.
Why abortion laws could change in Ireland.
The call to liberalize Ireland’s abortion laws has created significant political pressure.
Vatican Dispatch
Are Vietnam and the Vatican close to establishing diplomatic relations?
Relations between the Holy See and Vietnam are moving ahead in a positive way.
Politics
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Culture
Vatican
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Podcasts