Of Many Things
Seven years in, Pope Francis has given the church an education in dialogue
What became clear over these past seven years is Francis’ unrelenting commitment to creating opportunities for open and mutual encounters between him and others.
Your Take
When was your last religious conversation?
A 2019 Gallup survey showed that as few as 4 percent of Americans had a conversation about religion with their family and friends in the prior week.
Editorials
Is justice still a long-way off for Jesuit martyrs in El Salvador?
The State Department’s sanction raised some hope in El Salvador that the perpetrators of the Jesuit murders and more of the era’s worst offenses would finally have to face survivors and family members of their victims in court. Unfortunately, even such small expectations for justice are already imperiled.
Take me out to the (minor league) ballgame
Taking away access to minor-league baseball for many Americans is against our national interest and our longstanding culture.
Short Take
How can I reconcile the good and evil of Jean Vanier?
I can no longer in good conscience call Jean Vanier a saint, but I cannot accept the disturbing truth about him as proof, as some have understood it, that sanctity does not exist.
Dispatches
A world of unrest: Watchdog group counts dozens of flashpoints across the globe
The Global Conflict Tracker, part of the Council on Foreign Relations, listed 26 “conflicts around the world of concern to the United States” as of February, and there are new threats on the horizon.
Pope Francis recognizes the martyrdom of Jesuit Rutilio Grande and two lay companions in El Salvador
Pope Francis has authorized the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints to promulgate a decree recognizing the martyrdom of Grande and his two lay companions. This suggests that they may soon be beatified—that is, declared “blessed”—most likely in a ceremony in El Salvador later this year.
State Department sanctions 13 suspected in 1989 slaying of Jesuits in El Salvador. Why now?
The United States designates senior military officers as being directly responsible for the murders of six Jesuits and two others on the grounds of the University of Central America in 1989, a historic moment for justice in El Salvador.
Chicago’s $90 million plan to save its Catholic schools
Smiles have been plentiful at St. Ethelreda since Jan. 29, when the Big Shoulders Fund and the Archdiocese of Chicago announced a partnership that will inject more than $92 million into 30 Catholic schools.
Features
How the Jesuits and the Christian Brothers are bringing Catholic education back to Oakland
Since their founding in 1996, Cristo Rey schools have become a national network with multiple religious orders as sponsors.
A Catholic case for open borders
As walls go up, so does the hoarding behind them
Faith and Reason
Classical education is countercultural. It’s time to bring it back.
Anyone dissatisfied with the current state of elementary and high school education might ask why we don’t return to classical educational models.
Faith in Focus
The startling prayer life of Søren Kierkegaard
“The function of prayer is not to influence God,” Kierkegaard said, “but rather to change the nature of the one who prays.”
Ideas
WNYC’s ‘10 Things That Scare Me’ shows how sharing our fears can bring us closer together
At times “10 Things” feels like being witness to little acts of self-liberation.
Books
Review: Movie stardom might be your destiny, but it does not solve your problems.
Dan Bevacqua’s debut novel, the darkly comic ‘Molly Bit,’ follows the rise and fall of a Hollywood star.
Review: Abraham Heschel’s life of anguish and hope
Edward K. Kaplan’s book on Abraham Heschel will help readers feel a portion of the anguish Heschel endured in his lifetime. But even in his anguish, Heschel found not just spiritual consolation, but profound hope from his deep faith.
Emmanuel Macron, France’s precocious politician
Emmanuel Macron not only wants to “reform” France but to “transform” it.
Judith Butler defends an aggressive nonviolence in her newest book
Noted philosopher and gender theorist Judith Butler discusses nonviolence, grievability and “radical equality” in her book “The Force of Nonviolence: An Ethico-Political Bind.”
Film
The faith-haunted, stomach-churning cinema of Abel Ferrara
For the director of ‘Bad Lieutenant’ and other remarkable films, religion should not be couched in exclusively negative or positive terms.
‘I Lost My Body,’ up for best animated Oscar, is a moving meditation on grief
The French animated film traces the harrowing journey of a severed hand through the streets of Paris
Poetry
Postmodern Prayer
I’m tired of the world’s incessant buzz and scrutiny, the news and the news of the news, the onslaught.
The Word
How can you let Christ open your eyes?
We must seek healing for our own spiritual blindness in order to see the light of Christ.
The Women Who Followed Christ
Mary and Martha inspire us to maintain an unshakable faith, even during the darkest of hours.
Last Take
How the Jesuits’ four apostolic priorities support global education for girls
The denial of education to girls is a violation of their dignity as human beings made in the image of God, writes Jenny Cafiso of Canadian Jesuits International.
Faith
How the Jesuits and the Christian Brothers are bringing Catholic education back to Oakland
Since their founding in 1996, Cristo Rey schools have become a national network with multiple religious orders as sponsors.
Seven years in, Pope Francis has given the church an education in dialogue
What became clear over these past seven years is Francis’ unrelenting commitment to creating opportunities for open and mutual encounters between him and others.
How can you let Christ open your eyes?
We must seek healing for our own spiritual blindness in order to see the light of Christ.
The Women Who Followed Christ
Mary and Martha inspire us to maintain an unshakable faith, even during the darkest of hours.
How the Jesuits’ four apostolic priorities support global education for girls
The denial of education to girls is a violation of their dignity as human beings made in the image of God, writes Jenny Cafiso of Canadian Jesuits International.
The startling prayer life of Søren Kierkegaard
“The function of prayer is not to influence God,” Kierkegaard said, “but rather to change the nature of the one who prays.”
Classical education is countercultural. It’s time to bring it back.
Anyone dissatisfied with the current state of elementary and high school education might ask why we don’t return to classical educational models.
How can I reconcile the good and evil of Jean Vanier?
I can no longer in good conscience call Jean Vanier a saint, but I cannot accept the disturbing truth about him as proof, as some have understood it, that sanctity does not exist.
Pope Francis recognizes the martyrdom of Jesuit Rutilio Grande and two lay companions in El Salvador
Pope Francis has authorized the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints to promulgate a decree recognizing the martyrdom of Grande and his two lay companions. This suggests that they may soon be beatified—that is, declared “blessed”—most likely in a ceremony in El Salvador later this year.
Chicago’s $90 million plan to save its Catholic schools
Smiles have been plentiful at St. Ethelreda since Jan. 29, when the Big Shoulders Fund and the Archdiocese of Chicago announced a partnership that will inject more than $92 million into 30 Catholic schools.
Politics
Faith
Culture
Vatican
Scripture
Podcasts