Of Many Things
The real reason for our moralistic, combative politics: False messianism and the nation-state myth
If we forget we live in a fallen world we are at risk of using patriotism to replace God.
Your Take
Should the United States intervene when other countries are in crisis? Maybe, say America readers
America’s readers view military intervention as often necessary – with genocide as the most cited reason – but always a tough moral call.
The Letters
I am 16 years removed, and I am not yet able to forgive the men who orchestrated and carried out the attacks. Maybe one day I will be.
Editorials
They who are about to die salute us: the price of head trauma in professional sports
Presuming we are unwilling to outlaw these spectacles, we must mend what we will not end.
The Editors: Catholics must combat racism and bigotry at every turn.
The way forward is the way of the penitent and prophet.
Short Take
The decline of unions is part of a bad 50 years for American workers
Worker productivity has been going up, but wages are not keeping up.
Dispatches
El Salvador’s new cardinal pledges to protect the legacy of Óscar Romero
For newly appointed Cardinal Gregorio Rosa Chávez, the time is right to revive Romero’s legacy in a country still battered by violence and poverty.
Why refugees in the U.S. are risking their lives at the Canadian border
Refugees who initially fled from places in Africa were treated for frostbite after crossing the northern border on foot.
How much do Catholic priests and their lay colleagues make? A new report gives answers.
According to a new report, a large gap exists between the median salaries of administrative positions and pastoral positions.
Europe’s alt-right takes to the high seas to intercept refugees
Far-right groups are “crowdfunding” to pay for a purported defense of Europe. The aim of the new-right is to target vessels of various charities and aid agencies that are trying to rescue refugees at risk on the Mediterranean.
Features
When a Jew and a Catholic marry
There are tens of thousands of Jewish-Catholic intermarriages in the United States, and a good number of them involve partners with strong commitments to their separate traditions.
How Cajun country, an old ambulance and 1,200 frog legs led me back to the confessional.
On finding reconciliation in a post-contrition era.
Faith in Focus
When the K.K.K. came to town, Catholics prayed. Now what?
The church’s opposition to racism should be a consistent and constant force in our country.
Books
A patchwork quilt
If Seamus Heaney “digs” with his pen, Alexie sews with his.
Is affordable health care possible?
Health care is market-driven, yet the health care market is unlike other markets.
Intellectual history that reads like an adventure story
Drew Christiansen, S.J., reviews “Catholicism and Citizenship” by Massimo Faggioli
“Building a Bridge” by Father James Martin seeks respect between church and LGBT community
Father James Martin’s new books talks clearly and openly about an issue that daunts and taunts our church.
Film
Missing Robert Mitchum: nostalgia for the archetypal American male
In celebrating the centennial of Mitchum’s birth, we are really paying homage to a peculiarly American male archetype.
Music
Arcade Fire looks for God in a material world.
A tension between materialism and a yearning for greater meaning runs throughout the band’s new album.
Theater
Sam Shepard: America’s show-us-who-we-really-are prophet
While Shepard’s plays would absorb different rhythms and influences, their essence and voice were unmistakably his—our—own.
Poetry
The Transgression
We all unfold as music. / Our desire appears each morning.
The Word
Forgive and Be Forgiven
We who trust in God’s grace will discover no limits to our own mercy.
The Power of the Church at Work
God is at work enabling the church to reconcile the estranged, to restore ties of affection among people and to pray for the realization of God’s dreams.
Last Take
Why Catholics are called to radical hospitality in these political times
I grew up recognizing foreign as familiar, global as local and diverse as approximating perfection.
Faith
Forgive and Be Forgiven
We who trust in God’s grace will discover no limits to our own mercy.
The Power of the Church at Work
God is at work enabling the church to reconcile the estranged, to restore ties of affection among people and to pray for the realization of God’s dreams.
When a Jew and a Catholic marry
There are tens of thousands of Jewish-Catholic intermarriages in the United States, and a good number of them involve partners with strong commitments to their separate traditions.
How Cajun country, an old ambulance and 1,200 frog legs led me back to the confessional.
On finding reconciliation in a post-contrition era.
How much do Catholic priests and their lay colleagues make? A new report gives answers.
According to a new report, a large gap exists between the median salaries of administrative positions and pastoral positions.
When the K.K.K. came to town, Catholics prayed. Now what?
The church’s opposition to racism should be a consistent and constant force in our country.
Magazine
The Letters
I am 16 years removed, and I am not yet able to forgive the men who orchestrated and carried out the attacks. Maybe one day I will be.
Politics
Faith
Culture
Vatican
Scripture
Podcasts