Of Many Things
5 years in, what I’ve learned as the editor of America
Looking back on the last five years at America and forward to changes to come
Your Take
What role does social media play in your faith life? America readers weigh in.
America readers have a pretty positive view of social media.
The Letters
Equality is not yet a reality.
Editorials
How we use the ‘pro-life’ label matters
Is ‘pro-life’ an appeal or an accusation?
The Editors: We need to rally around the forgotten Americans of Puerto Rico
Hurricane Maria is a reminder that this two-tiered system of American citizenship is neither democratic nor tenable.
Short Take
Faculty unions pose a test of social teaching at Catholic universities
Adjunct faculty feel as if they have second-class status, but the real culprit is escalating costs at tuition-dependent universities.
Dispatches
While volunteers rebuild Mexican towns, a bishop accuses the government of stealing credit
The government response in Mexico City has been swift, but surrounding towns devastated by last week’s earthquake are frustrated by the slow arrival of aid.
Pope Francis calls for nuclear weapons reduction as U.S.-North Korea tensions escalate
Speaking at the United Nations, the Vatican’s secretary for relations with states, Archbishop Paul Gallagher, said the “world is awash” with weapons.
Cardinal Bo defends Aung San Suu Kyi, calls for healing and justice In Myanmar
“The trigger to violence and the aggressive response are lamentable,” Cardinal Bo said in his carefully worded statement.
Tent City, USA: Southern California’s homelessness crisis
It is not only Anaheim, but Southern California as a whole that finds itself in the midst of a homelessness emergency.
Features
What would Thomas Merton make of Trump, climate change and Twitter?
In his position, others might have begun to hate the world. Instead, Thomas Merton found he could not leave it alone.
Black Elk, the Lakota medicine man turned Catholic teacher, is promoted for sainthood
Sainthood for Black Elk could help the inclusion of indigenous Americans within the Catholic Church, but it also raises questions about the church’s role in erasing Lakota culture.
Faith and Reason
55 years after Vatican II, the task remains the same
Looking back 55 years after the beginning of Vatican II, what have we learned and what have we forgotten?
Faith in Focus
A progressive, feminist evangelical considers joining the Catholic Church
Why exchange one brand of Christianity for another with similar hang-ups?
Books
Why do they dislike us? An American in Turkey seeks an answer.
Suzy Hansen’s ‘Notes on a Foreign Country’ is not a romantic ‘Eat Pray Love’-style tale of self-discovery.
The French Foreign Legion: the colonial force par excellence
A new book situates the Legion within the shameful history of French colonialism.
An unsettling look at America’s culture of self-defense
“Stand your ground” laws typically expand the historic reach of the “castle doctrine,” the right in English common law to defending one’s own property.
Film
Why are Catholic horror films so popular? Revisiting ‘Rosemary’s Baby’ for clues
American horror is a God-drenched genre, and many of the essential films in the genre are explicitly Catholic.
Wendell Berry: a yeoman farmer and voice for rural America
Berry is an advocate of small farms, rural communities and Judeo-Christian values like kindness.
Television
The Walking Dead’s religious question: Can paranoia and Christianity coexist?
In a zombie world, the good Samaritan would be toast.
Poetry
When God Arrives
He lives in infinity, and his voice is/ an octave higher than silence.
The Word
Awe and Devotion
Every display of love that we receive should transfix us with awe and inspire a response of the deepest generosity.
Whom Do You Serve?
These other sovereigns can confer social status but not community, power but not trust, wealth but not fulfillment, pleasure but not joy.
Last Take
Caring for the most vulnerable: undocumented women in abusive relationships
Undocumented women face special challenges when they report domestic abuse, but they now have a champion in Pope Francis
Faith
Awe and Devotion
Every display of love that we receive should transfix us with awe and inspire a response of the deepest generosity.
Whom Do You Serve?
These other sovereigns can confer social status but not community, power but not trust, wealth but not fulfillment, pleasure but not joy.
What role does social media play in your faith life? America readers weigh in.
America readers have a pretty positive view of social media.
Black Elk, the Lakota medicine man turned Catholic teacher, is promoted for sainthood
Sainthood for Black Elk could help the inclusion of indigenous Americans within the Catholic Church, but it also raises questions about the church’s role in erasing Lakota culture.
55 years after Vatican II, the task remains the same
Looking back 55 years after the beginning of Vatican II, what have we learned and what have we forgotten?
Cardinal Bo defends Aung San Suu Kyi, calls for healing and justice In Myanmar
“The trigger to violence and the aggressive response are lamentable,” Cardinal Bo said in his carefully worded statement.
A progressive, feminist evangelical considers joining the Catholic Church
Why exchange one brand of Christianity for another with similar hang-ups?
Magazine
5 years in, what I’ve learned as the editor of America
Looking back on the last five years at America and forward to changes to come
The Letters
Equality is not yet a reality.
Politics
Faith
Culture
Vatican
Scripture
Podcasts