

Jesuit School Spotlight
21 tips for new teachers from a Jesuit educator
Like cooking, teaching is an art. Give your whole heart to it and know that your students will be fed.
Of Many Things
Christianity is not a self-help group
We are not in ultimate control of our faith journeys, any more than we control our ultimate destinies.
Your Take
Will Pope Francis’ synod change the church? Our readers weigh in.
Bishop Robert W. McElroy of San Diego asked in the July/August issue of America whether synodality could “become a deeper element of Catholic life in the United States?” Our readers had a lot to say.
Editorials
The Editors: Catholic schools can’t serve only the rich. School vouchers make fulfilling that mission possible.
The recent expansion of Arizona’s school voucher program will make it easier for Catholic schools there to fulfill their mission.
Short Take
The U.S. bishops must repudiate anti-abortion extremists. Their pro-life witness depends on it.
The bishops’ conciliatory statements are being overshadowed by the specter of punitive cruelty toward women confronting crisis pregnancies. They must speak out again.
Dispatches
Newfoundland church sales bring justice to abuse victims—and leave longtime parishioners in need of a new spiritual home.
A group of elderly survivors of abuse at Newfoundland’s Mount Cashel Orphanage are finally receiving compensation ordered by a landmark ruling in 2020 that went against the Archdiocese of St. John’s.
Are Latino Catholics really becoming more pro-choice?
A new poll found that 75 percent of Hispanic Catholics say abortion should be legal in “most or all cases.” But interviews with community and faith leaders suggest more nuance, and more ambivalence, among Latinos.
For the first time ever, Pope Francis appoints three women to the Vatican office that selects bishops
Continuing with determination to open up new positions of responsibility for women in the Roman Curia, Pope Francis has appointed three women as members of the Dicastery for Bishops.
Sister Helen Prejean on Oklahoma’s unprecedented rush to execute 25 people
“This rush to execute would be reckless in any state, but Oklahoma in particular has a horrendous track record for problematic executions.”
Corruption and incompetence plague A.N.C.: Liberation lost in South Africa?
The #farmgate scandal is only the latest example of dysfunction within the African National Congress. Critics warn that corruption and incompetence have become endemic, contributing to a massive breakdown in basic services.
Features
An open mind and an open heart: America magazine’s editor in chief on a decade of pursuing the truth
For the last decade we have tried to help counter the effects of ideological partisanship by breaking down the echo chambers it relies on; to host a different kind of discourse, a forum for a diversity of viewpoints.
Want to improve communication between men and women in the Catholic church? Start in the seminary.
It is crucial that church leaders are trained to be good communicators, which also means being good listeners. This training is especially important for priests, whose communications skills (or lack thereof) often set the tone for a parish.
Faith and Reason
The first phase of the global synod has come to a close. What have we learned?
As the first phase of the worldwide synod concludes, there is great opportunity to consider what graces have been poured out, what we have learned and how we can continue the momentum we have created.
Faith in Focus
The prayers of my junior high math teacher have sustained me far beyond my school years
I want this for my own children and their classmates, that they will feel the prayers of their community as they navigate a world that views our faith as old-fashioned, ridiculous and even malicious.
On not wishing one’s students were different
A professor reflects on the difficulties and opportunities presented by teaching reluctant students.
It’s time to bring back receiving Communion from the chalice
After two years without it, I fear we are forgetting what is so precious about Christ’s blood and the reception of Communion in both forms.
Vantage Point
From 1909: America’s first editorial announcement
When it was founded in 1909, America sought to be journal of general interest to all Americans despite its specific Jesuit charism. The goal remain the same today.
Books
C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien and the Inklings: Telling Stories to Save Lives
As modern-day evangelists, C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien are simply unrivaled.
Review: Next time you go to an art museum, bring Jed Perl’s latest book. It will be the ideal companion.
Must art always promote a particular idea or ideology? Jed Perl argues that “the artist in the act of creation must stand firm in the knowledge that art has its own laws and logic.”
Review: Water is essential for life. Katy Carl’s debut novel reminds us that God is, too.
Katy Carl’s debut novel traces the slow growth of love between two people thirsting for something more out of life.
Review: Motherhood and the impossibility of perfect work-life balance
Lara Bazelon’s ‘Ambitious Like a Mother’ raises (perhaps unintentionally) some interesting questions about gender, work, family and ambition—and how individual women (and men) who are blessed with options might want that four-way intersection to look.
Pope Pius XII and the Holocaust: Reality or Revisionism?
A new book by David I. Kertzer argues that Pope Pius XII has more responsibility for the Holocaust than previously reported. But is the charge merited?
Poetry
Afterlife
He is a color I have never thought of.
Thurible of Belief
Above pew, ambo, and altar Escape into pungent relief.
Last Take
In an apocalyptic age of polarization, Catholic leaders must not shy away from the healing language of faith.
What does it mean to be the lay leader of a Catholic university at this apocalyptic moment in our history? It is an opportunity to speak more loudly about our core principles.
Faith
From 1909: America’s first editorial announcement
When it was founded in 1909, America sought to be journal of general interest to all Americans despite its specific Jesuit charism. The goal remain the same today.
Will Pope Francis’ synod change the church? Our readers weigh in.
Bishop Robert W. McElroy of San Diego asked in the July/August issue of America whether synodality could “become a deeper element of Catholic life in the United States?” Our readers had a lot to say.
Christianity is not a self-help group
We are not in ultimate control of our faith journeys, any more than we control our ultimate destinies.
An open mind and an open heart: America magazine’s editor in chief on a decade of pursuing the truth
For the last decade we have tried to help counter the effects of ideological partisanship by breaking down the echo chambers it relies on; to host a different kind of discourse, a forum for a diversity of viewpoints.
Want to improve communication between men and women in the Catholic church? Start in the seminary.
It is crucial that church leaders are trained to be good communicators, which also means being good listeners. This training is especially important for priests, whose communications skills (or lack thereof) often set the tone for a parish.
The first phase of the global synod has come to a close. What have we learned?
As the first phase of the worldwide synod concludes, there is great opportunity to consider what graces have been poured out, what we have learned and how we can continue the momentum we have created.
The prayers of my junior high math teacher have sustained me far beyond my school years
I want this for my own children and their classmates, that they will feel the prayers of their community as they navigate a world that views our faith as old-fashioned, ridiculous and even malicious.
On not wishing one’s students were different
A professor reflects on the difficulties and opportunities presented by teaching reluctant students.
It’s time to bring back receiving Communion from the chalice
After two years without it, I fear we are forgetting what is so precious about Christ’s blood and the reception of Communion in both forms.
21 tips for new teachers from a Jesuit educator
Like cooking, teaching is an art. Give your whole heart to it and know that your students will be fed.
For the first time ever, Pope Francis appoints three women to the Vatican office that selects bishops
Continuing with determination to open up new positions of responsibility for women in the Roman Curia, Pope Francis has appointed three women as members of the Dicastery for Bishops.






