A Conservation Ethic For the Oceans
My grandfather was a fisherman and loved the oceans. He used to say to me, Protect the oceans and they will protect you. He understood the cycle of life and the fragile relationship between our oceans and all of us. Todaybecause we have largely taken our oceans for granted and failed to protect them
Cuba’s Catholic Dissident: The Saga of Oswaldo Pay
Dissident movements never get much traction in Communist Cuba. That is partly because Fidel Castro is vastly more charismatic than the stone-faced apparatchiks of the old Soviet bloc and partly because his security apparatus would tax Orwell’s imagination. Either way, El Comandante has always
Priesthood Sunday
At St. Benedict’s Parish in Ridgely, Md., parish groups are sending appreciation cards to every priest who ever served in the parish, as well as to all deacons, seminarians and other religious in the community. At St. Anne’s Church in Albuquerque, N.M., a children’s Rosary Rally wi
Of Many Things
Of Many Things
Public libraries dot the landscape of Manhattan, and hardly a week goes by that I don’t pay a lunchtime or after-work visit to the one near America House to take out or return books. Although it is the closest, it is not the only one I visit. Walking home, I pass the city’s research libr
Letters
Letters
Voices of Which Faithful?
The three models for the Voice of the Faithful outlined by Thomas P. Rausch, S.J., (9/29), are interesting from a merely academic point of view. But his suggestion that the incorporational model may be the most effective in the long term appears nave when a practical application is considered. Does Father Rausch…
Editorials
Helping Head Start
Head Start, the federally funded program for preschool children from low-income families, is now up for reauthorization by Congress. Begun in 1965 by the Office of Economic Opportunity as an eight-week summer initiative, it soon expanded into a full-year program for children age 3 to school age. It
Faith in Focus
Matters of the Heart
My dad taught me many things. He taught me that if you had enough duct tape, you could fix anything, and if you had enough extension cords, you could plug in anything anywhere. He taught me that each day, you should do three things: take care of your responsibilities, do something for someone else a
Books
Prejudiced Still
Suddenly there are two books on anti-Catholicism both of which have the same subtitle The Last Acceptable Prejudice The one by Philip Jenkins purports to describe a ldquo new rdquo anti-Catholicism the other by Mark Massa S J portrays an ldquo old rdquo anti-Catholicism Philip Jenkins
Civic Collapse
According to a certain triumphalone might say self-satisfiedview of recent American history our nation today is a far more democratic place than it was 50 years ago Then our republic was defaced in so many ways by invidious discrimination Today thanks to the civil rights crusades and the women r
Poetry
The Helpmate
Safely young and just beginning,
The Word
What Did You Expect?
Several years ago Bishop Kenneth Untener of Saginaw Mich reminded a seminary graduating class that building ramps will not give back to the disabled the use of their legs In other words ministry does not always turn circumstances around Sometimes the most it can do is hold back the tide of mis
Columns
The Choice Is Mine
I used to like the idea of placing all people into one of two groups: the brave or the fainthearted. I willingly put myself in the latter category and therefore felt justified in not doing many things that only “brave” people do: being a missionary, going to jail to protest some injustic
A Curious Silence
A few years ago, the cultural community of New York worked itself into a frenzy when the city’s mayor denounced a piece of art he deemed to be anti-Catholic. The piece in question was a representation of the Virgin Mary covered in elephant dung and decorated with offensive images, designed no
Faith
Remembering Mother Teresa
We live in a world where light and darkness coexist. Through the life she lived, Mother Teresa invited people to choose light. In this way she opened a road to holiness for many others. So we shall be numerous, in Saint Peter’s Square on Oct. 19, rejoicing that Pope John Paul II, by declaring
News
Signs of the Times
Papal Envoy Says Events Proved Vatican Right About Iraqi WarSeven months after he tried to convince President George W. Bush not to invade Iraq, Cardinal Pio Laghi, papal envoy, said events have proved the Vatican right about the consequences of war and the difficulties of consolidating peace. Cardi
Politics
Faith
Culture
Vatican
Scripture
Podcasts