Schooled by Scandals
Recent ethical and legal scandals in the American church pose a perplexing question. How could intelligent and generally good persons have been sucked into such a mess? The same question arose when the recent business scandals were studied. What has been learned from analyzing business scandals can
Catholic Peacebuilding
A major theme sounded by the Bush administration before and after the war against Iraq is the right and responsibility of the United States, as the world’s leading democracy, to unseat the forces of tyranny and replace dictatorial regimes with democracies wherever U.S. interests are threatened
The North Korean Conundrum
The news stories about Korea seem to veer from saber-rattling toward negotiations and back again. Despite the latest agreement on multiparty talks, mutual misperceptions and, on the part of the United States, avoidance of the issue may yet risk an unnecessary war, whose victims will be the civilian
Of Many Things
Of Many Things
A few weeks ago I made a quick stop into my local deli for a small can of tomato sauce, which wound up costing me $105.49. The 49 cents was my actual purchase. The $105, thanks to New York’s Mayor Mike (which rhymes with hike) Bloomberg, was a parking citation. You’ve heard, I&rsq
Letters
Letters
Certain Uniformity
Among the items in Signs of the Times on Aug. 4 is a notice that the Vatican says flexibility allowed on posture after Communion, even though the General Instruction of the Roman Missal, No. 43, states that all are to remain standing until the end of Mass. The reason given for this statement by…
Editorials
Refugees in Danger
The prospects are dark for the world’s refugees and asylum seekers. Ever more stringent security measures in the wake of terrorist attacks have led to higher and higher barriers in countries that once welcomed them. These less-than-welcoming countries, moreover, are among the wealthiest: the U
Faith in Focus
Turning 70 and Beyond
Turning 70—what a thought! And yet here I am on that very threshold. In fact, though, a friend pointed out to me that having celebrated my 69th birthday, I had already begun my 70th year. Rita’s explanation came as something of a double whammy, like having to deal with reaching 70 twice.
Books
Building Bridges
Although Vatican II urged moral theologians to pay attention to Scripture and the Christian vocation the old wineskins of traditional moral theology burst under the ferment of new biblical personalist and liberationist contents Connecting Scripture and moral theology has proven to be a formidabl
What Kind of God?
In the last decade or two we have witnessed a spirited revival of the rhetoric of design Sometimes this translates into a modest case for a peaceful settlement of the science religion skirmish For the proponents of the modern Intelligent Design I D movement however a negotiated truce is not a
Scarred by Sin,Touched by Grace
Best known in the United States for his early films ldquo Diary of a Country Priest rdquo 1951 and ldquo The Trial of Joan of Arc rdquo 1962 Robert Bresson became known to the critical establishment as a ldquo Catholic rdquo filmmaker In this brief but comprehensive survey of the comple
Poetry
Eurydice to Orpheus
oh sweet husband of mine
The Word
I Would Do Anything…
I would do anything rdquo That rsquo s a phrase we hear often It may even play an important role in our own lives ldquo I would do anything to have your good looks rdquo mdash and some people go to great lengths to try to change their appearance nbsp ldquo I would do anything…
Columns
Living on an Edge
There is fear that paralyzes and fear that compels. The distinction can melt into nothing in a split second, but the difference means everything in life.
News
Signs of the Times
Conservatives to Meet With Bishops on Sex Abuse CrisisSeveral leading U.S. bishops are expected to attend a discussion forum with self-styled conservative Catholic voices on the clergy sexual abuse crisis on Sept. 8 in Washington, D.C. We should be talking about the 25-year legacy of our pope and ho
Politics
Faith
Culture
Vatican
Scripture
Podcasts