Of Many Things
Coronavirus is a storm, but we must keep singing in the rain
Easter joy gives us the eyes to see those hints of eternity in the here and now, writes Matt Malone, S.J.
Your Take
Readers react to Trump’s call with the U.S. bishops on Catholic education
On April 25, Catholic leaders joined a conference call with President Trump that was supposed to be about Catholic education. The aftermath of that meeting elicited many strong responses from America’s readers.
Editorials
What our history can teach us about finding hope in devastation
The sacrifice of those we remember this month with “our undying gratitude” will not have been in vain.
Editorial: Discerning when and how a pope emeritus should speak
It would be a powerful outward sign of unity in the church if the pope emeritus and those who advise him sought to avoid situations in which his public comments will be inevitably misused to suggest a division that Benedict has never wanted.
Short Take
Around the world, democracy is at risk from the coronavirus
Central governments must be able to respond to crises, writes Bill McCormick, S.J., but President Trump’s claim of “total” authority is a reminder that democracies must also be able to maintain limits on power.
Dispatches
Hunger begins to replace Covid-19 as existential fear in South Africa
The national coronavirus lockdown has translated into a sharp increase in levels of poverty and malnutrition in South Africa. Because of that emerging suffering, some are already beginning to wonder if the nationwide restrictions are doing more harm than good.
With world attention on Covid-19, China clamps down on Hong Kong
The mass protests that had roiled Hong Kong since June 2019, now largely subsided because of the Covid-19 pandemic, are likely to return, many warn, because of recent gestures by Beijing to tighten control over the former British colony.
Catholic parish life (as we knew it) is not coming back anytime soon.
Interviews with physicians, public health experts, priests and diocesan leaders all elicited at least one common refrain: Even when public Masses resume, parish life will not feel normal for a while.
GoodNews
Minnesota bishop assembles clergy for anointing coronavirus patients
As they move forward in this ministry, the priests will quarantine themselves, either alone or with other priests on the team, and will pull back from parish ministry. In some cases, they will temporarily change residences.
Features
The coronavirus gives Catholic universities a chance to strengthen their identity
In the coronavirus epidemic, Catholic educators have a real-world laboratory to evaluate how they make practical the too-often merely conceptual talk about Catholic identity. Do current pedagogies give students what we say they will—a truly distinctive way of being, a way of knowing and a way of responding to life’s most difficult problems?
Citizenship is facing an existential crisis. Can political theology help?
In a troubled time in our nation’s history, can we unite around shared commitments to freedom, human dignity and truth?
Faith and Reason
Who suffers most during the coronavirus pandemic?
As we face the challenge of Covid-19, our obligations to the citizens of our own country must not negate our duties to global humanity. Active support for the poor and the displaced will be essential in longer-term efforts for a more just, more inclusive and healthier post-crisis world.
Faith in Focus
We’re all monks now
Advice for living under quarantine from Trappist monks
Books
Review: Jia Tolentino on the realities of life
In a collection of nine essays, Jia Tolentino writes about a range of topics, including the advent of our internet culture, the modern wedding industry, megachurch evangelical Christianity, market-driven feminism and college rape culture.
Review: Paul Mariani’s life in verse
Paul Mariani’s poems ask, “Does God know us only by the names our parents gave us?,” another reminder of how the human and eternal meet.
Review: How (and why) to reinvent journalism as we know it
Victor Pickard wants to help “reinvent journalism” by working out a new economic model based on some sort of public subsidy for reporting outlets all over the country.
Review: The Christ-like (and paradoxical) life of Dorothy Day
Dorothy Day lived a life that today poses significant challenges for just about anyone mindful of the least of our brethren.
Music
Fiona Apple’s ‘Fetch the Bolt Cutters’ is the album we need to survive quarantine
Apple’s new album feels like a sustained performance, dense with emotion and observation.
Television
‘The Last Dance’ asks: What is the price of greatness?
The first thing I noticed when tuning into “The Last Dance” were Michael Jordan’s eyes. The second was his glass of tequila.
Poetry
Quarantine
My father-in-law is coming to the end.
The Nuns Who Wrote Poems
In the mid-20th century, several women religious were writing and publishing ambitious poetry.
The Word
How can we celebrate the Trinity?
On this Trinity Sunday, we reflect on the love and connections within the Trinity.
The Holy Spirit helps us speak
Each of Luke’s accounts highlights aspects of the Spirit’s role in propelling the Christian movement forward after the resurrection.
Last Take
Who will we become after the coronavirus? For students, the key is resilience.
Children are grieving the absence of their teachers and schoolmates, writes Sister Rosemarie Nassif of the Center for Catholic Education. We can teach them to adapt to, and overcome, this disturbance in their lives.
Faith
Coronavirus is a storm, but we must keep singing in the rain
Easter joy gives us the eyes to see those hints of eternity in the here and now, writes Matt Malone, S.J.
How can we celebrate the Trinity?
On this Trinity Sunday, we reflect on the love and connections within the Trinity.
The coronavirus gives Catholic universities a chance to strengthen their identity
In the coronavirus epidemic, Catholic educators have a real-world laboratory to evaluate how they make practical the too-often merely conceptual talk about Catholic identity. Do current pedagogies give students what we say they will—a truly distinctive way of being, a way of knowing and a way of responding to life’s most difficult problems?
The Holy Spirit helps us speak
Each of Luke’s accounts highlights aspects of the Spirit’s role in propelling the Christian movement forward after the resurrection.
Citizenship is facing an existential crisis. Can political theology help?
In a troubled time in our nation’s history, can we unite around shared commitments to freedom, human dignity and truth?
Who suffers most during the coronavirus pandemic?
As we face the challenge of Covid-19, our obligations to the citizens of our own country must not negate our duties to global humanity. Active support for the poor and the displaced will be essential in longer-term efforts for a more just, more inclusive and healthier post-crisis world.
Minnesota bishop assembles clergy for anointing coronavirus patients
As they move forward in this ministry, the priests will quarantine themselves, either alone or with other priests on the team, and will pull back from parish ministry. In some cases, they will temporarily change residences.
Editorial: Discerning when and how a pope emeritus should speak
It would be a powerful outward sign of unity in the church if the pope emeritus and those who advise him sought to avoid situations in which his public comments will be inevitably misused to suggest a division that Benedict has never wanted.
Catholic parish life (as we knew it) is not coming back anytime soon.
Interviews with physicians, public health experts, priests and diocesan leaders all elicited at least one common refrain: Even when public Masses resume, parish life will not feel normal for a while.
We’re all monks now
Advice for living under quarantine from Trappist monks
Politics
Faith
Culture
Vatican
Scripture
Podcasts