Ministering to People With AIDS
Switching from parochial school teaching in upstate New York to ministering to people with AIDS in a poor neighborhood of New York City is a very big leap indeed. But that radical switch is precisely the one made by Maureen O’Neill, who for almost seven years has served as a Redemptorist lay m
The Soldiers Came Asking
The Catholic Church in the United States has come to identify “peace and justice” issues as the call for the church to speak out and challenge policy makers. The church must not only salve the wounds of war and injustice, but prevent them at their systemic source. But these days,
Undermining Antiterrorism: When National Security and Immigration Policy Collide
Over the last two months, thousands of Pakistani immigrants have abandoned their U.S. homes to seek refuge in Canada. Most wait fearfully in shelters and motels in U.S. border cities for their refugee interviews in Canada. The Immigration and Naturalization Service has arrested others who may or may
Of Many Things
Of Many Things
Summer is the perfect time to catch up on reading those books you’ve set aside for that eschatological someday. With that in mind, I offer a short list of summer reading suggestions. The four books can be characterized as follows: new and fun, sort of new and very interesting, old and wonderfu
Letters
Letters
Final Words
As a Sister of St Joseph who labored over teaching the words, but more important, the meaning, of the Act of Contrition to many a distracted second, third and fourth grader during the 1950’s and 60’s in schools in Philadelphia, I was delighted on reading, first, the remembrances of James Martin, S.J., in Of…
Editorials
Joshua and the Walls of Washington
May a state government run a lottery with the proviso that the winner may not donate the prize to any institution that trains students to become ministers of religion? This question is not yet before the U.S. Supreme Court. But a somewhat similar situation is presented in a case that the court has a
Faith in Focus
Sacred Heart Spirituality
The image of Jesus that greets me as I walk into the school is familiar. His arms are opened wide in a gesture of welcome. The heart that is carved on his chest is surrounded by thorns and flames. Bright morning sunshine pours through the window behind him. In many ways, I’ve grown up…
Books
God’s Globetrotter
Pope John Paul II will celebrate the 25th anniversary of his election to the Chair of Peter on Oct 16 2003 That makes this a timely publication His papacy has been the most visible in history this pope ldquo reaches out across borders rdquo that are not just geographic but also social politi
Subjugating Sarah
Valerie Martin rsquo s new novel is aptly titled The power of property mdash persons and things mdash drives the plot and illuminates the characters Captors become captives and lives are irrevocably changed by power struggles over property The novel rsquo s setting moves back and forth from plan
For All in Need
More and more regional and intrastate conflicts throughout the world have led to huge increases in the numbers of refugees and internally displaced persons Their pressing needs have in turn resulted in a corresponding growth in nongovernmental organizations that attempt to provide them with basic e
The Word
The Church’s [Real] Foundation
Within the recent past the church has been tossed to and fro in storms of controversy Not one storm mdash many storms And not in one country mdash in many countries It has been the target of fierce persecution and it has also allowed evil to corrupt it from within Whether in circumstances of h
Who Does He Think He Is?
Nobody likes a smart aleck Particularly if the person concerned is one of us one who seems to act as if she or he is in some way better than the rest Even if it is true we insist that that person should not flaunt it Today rsquo s readings all sketch the profile of…
Columns
Building a Bridge With Kind Words
There were lots of unfamiliar faces at Mass that morningvisitors invited to share the day with their friends from the parish. Some of them were not Catholic, though that was hardly a surprise. In my part of the country, the polyglot Northeast, such family-church celebrations rarely are for Catholics
News
Signs of the Times
Bishop Apologizes, Avoids Prosecution in Abuse CasesIn an agreement to avoid criminal prosecution, Bishop Thomas J. O’Brien of Phoenix has given up some of his diocesan administrative duties and apologized for allowing priests he knew were suspected of sexual abuse to continue working with min
Portfolio
Art as Mission: The enamel work of Egino Weinert
You can see a wonderful golden tabernacle and monstrance by Egino Weinert in the Gaukirche of Paderborn in Germany. You can pray his Stations of the Cross in the parish church of Strassen in Luxembourg or at St. Vincent de Paul’s in Huntington Beach, Calif. You can admire his decorations at a
Politics
Faith
Culture
Vatican
Scripture
Podcasts