Both Gen-Y and Catholic
"Isn’t he sooo cute!” coos Amy. She is not talking about some fraternity boy she’s in love with. She’s melting over John Paul II chanting a Latin hymn on a CD she has brought with her on retreat. Only the pope is that kind of cute. Even after 15 years of working with you
A Glass Half Empty
At the height of the cult phenomenon in the 1970’s, Rabbi Maurice Davis, an experienced deprogrammer, reflected on his experience helping young people return to their families and mainstream society. He observed that most of them were dropouts from mainline churches and synagogues, and that wh
Hospitality at Church
The advice appeared in a newspaper column written by an interior decorator. A correspondent had asked, “What’s the single least expensive change I can make in my home in order to improve it?” The columnist responded: “Clean the place up. It’s virtually free, and it will
Selling Ourselves on the Marriage Market
Talking with college students about marriage from a Christian perspectiveas a permanent, faithful, covenantal commitmentis like swimming against the tide. These students have grown up in a society in which nearly half of all marriages end in divorce. Not surprisingly, they are fearful that their fut
Of Many Things
Of Many Things
In the spring of 2002, thinking it would be fun, I offered to take over a sixth grade C.C.D. class in the Bronx for another Jesuit who had an unexpected conflict. Maybe it was a case of bright-eyed suburban boy meets already world-wearied urban sixth graders. Or maybe it was simply the fact that the
Letters
Letters
Public Scandal
Having read your recounting of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger’s advice to the U.S. bishops on morality in voting (Signs of the Times, 7/19), I find it little wonder that there is a great deal of confusion. But it should be quite apparent to any right thinking person that the murder of 40 million innocents is…
Editorials
Leave No School Behind
No one had to tell the delegates at the fourth annual convention of the Catholic Educational Association that Catholic schools aim to help their students become true Christians. But that is not all they are supposed to do. At the pontifical Mass that opened the meeting, held in Milwaukee, Wis., in J
Faith in Focus
A Witness to Joy
I grew up as the third oldest of six children in a liberal Jewish home. My parents were atheists, and for most of my early life I believed (as did they) in social justice but had no belief in God. Although my life had many ups and downs, nothing could prepare me for the devastation…
Books
God Comes First
Michael McClymond is Clarence Louis and Helen Irene Steber Professor of Theological Studies at Saint Louis University In language that is both accessible and engaging he has provided a concise straightforward and balanced overview of contemporary Jesus studies that should prove helpful to a varie
The Adolescent Faith Journey
I first met James DiGiacomo S J in the mid-70 rsquo s at a national workshop he was leading for the Jesuit Secondary Education Association on adolescent moral development In 2003 he retired from a teaching career that spanned more than five decades His dedication to Catholic religious education
River+Mountains+Gospel Living
Reading a work by someone you rsquo ve met and whose life and ministry you admirethat inevitably counts as a factor when you sit down to review the person rsquo s first book Happily and objectively I can recommend Deirdre Cornell rsquo s A Priceless View My Spiritual Homecoming to all who find pr
The Word
It’s None of My Business
The phrase Its none of my business can mean more than one thing It can be an acknowledgment that we must respect the right of others to self-determination and personal privacy On the other hand it can be used as an excuse for not stepping in to help when it is clear that another needs…
Columns
A Gross Campaign
Every election cycle, it seems, brings new evidence that politics is an ignoble profession not worthy of the average citizens active participation. This years voter turnoff is breathtaking in its audacity and downright cruelty. John Kerry, a man who volunteered for a war he could have evadedas so ma
News
Signs of the Times
In Northeastern Chad’s Heat and Rain, Refugee Graves Are Added DailyAbout 100 graves of Sudanese refugees line the cemetery of the Farchana refugee camp in northeastern Chad. New bodies are added every day, with most of the deceased being young children or the elderly who have succumbed to the
Politics
Faith
Culture
Vatican
Scripture
Podcasts