Hidden Costs of War
My sister is leaving her husband. The last intact marriage of my dad’s six children is coming apart in the face of her husband’s bizarre symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. My brother-in-law returned from Vietnam with multiple decorations, including two purple hearts. He also bro
A Different Kind of Faithfulness
What are we to make of a genius who states categorically that he believes in angels, the Fall, the Gospels and the spirit of God brooding over human historyyet whose faith eludes us even at his most candid? One of the world’s and Christianity’s great poets, Poland’s Czeslaw Milosz,
Losing Oneself and Finding God
I vividly remember first seeing Karl Rahner in 1964 at Georgetown University’s 175th anniversary celebration. A major symposium had been prepared, during which he delivered—that is to say, William Dych, S.J., read for him—the great lecture on the theology of freedom. Awestruck, I s
A Transparent Philosopher
Were he still alive to celebrate his 100th birthday this year, Josef Pieper would probably be surprised to see that today there is greater need than ever for some of his major insights. In today’s workaholic culture, Pieper’s small masterpiece Leisure: The Basis of Culture remains an ant
Letters
Letters
Zero Tolerance and the Power of Grace
The Oct. 18 issue of America carries two thought-provoking articles: What Has the Charter Accomplished? by Archbishop Harry Flynn, and Where Do We Go From Here? by Thomas P. Rausch, S.J. Those pose the questions, where are we and where are we headed? The we is generically the church…
Editorials
Toward Visible Unity
Like yeast in dough, for 40 years ecumenism has been quietly leavening the life of the churches. It is so much taken for granted that we often do not recognize how different the shape of Christian life is today from 50 years ago and how close the churches have grown. For centuries, hymnody divided C
Books
If You Can Make It Here…
Back when President Bill Clinton rsquo s pledge to ldquo end welfare as we know it rdquo was known in White House corridors as ldquo EWAWKI rdquo pronounced to rhyme with Milwaukee Jason DeParle senior writer at The New York Times was closer to the policy story than any reporter DeParle cou
State-ly Intrigue
In light of the present worldwide prestige of the papacy it comes as a shock to realize that less than a century and a quarter ago an anticlerical mob tried to interrupt Pope Pius IX rsquo s funeral procession determined to throw the pope rsquo s corpse into the Tiber And it seems like ancient…
America Needs Revival!
Cornel West rsquo s Democracy Matters is a fervent heartfelt and angry jeremiad about the current state of American society Democracy the author states at the outset is being or already has been snuffed out in America by three dominating tendencies free market fundamentalism militaristic inte
Beginning Again
Cynthia Ozick is a storyteller with an acute sense of the world Her stories are parables and her novels have the precision of Jamesian prose coupled with wit and deep philosophical import Her novel Heir to the Glimmering World renders the lives of refugees and outcasts with humor and empathy and
Mortal Speech Meets Divine Speech
Philip Zaleski’s new collection of spiritual writing is a veritable United Nations of spirituality, including Christian, Muslim, Jewish, secular and pan-Hindu perspectives. I have been following this excellent annual since it was first published in 1998 by Harper San Francisco, and I am relieved to find it continued as part of Houghton Mifflin’s Best American…
A Global Gospel of Freedom
I do not often agree with Michael Novak but the subtitle of his new book attracted me anyone willing to show that Samuel Huntington rsquo s dramatic prediction of a clash of civilizations is wrong is someone I want very much to read Unfortunately Novak mentions Huntington only in passing and neve
The Word
The End of Days
There is always a great deal of emotion in anticipation of ldquo the day rdquo whether that be a wedding day the first day of vacation opening day at the ballpark or the day of discharge from the service mdash to name but a few important days in the lives of many of us In…
News
Signs of the Times
Social Doctrine Compendium Promotes Human Dignity, Common GoodThe God-given dignity of humans and the obligation to promote the common good of all the world’s people require the Catholic Church to speak on social issues, says the new Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church. The church&
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Podcasts