The Iraq War and Imperial Psychology
During the raucous postseason baseball celebrations near Fenway Park in Boston, a young woman named Victoria Snelgrove from Emerson College was killed by police, who apparently shot her in the eye with pepper spray. The Boston Herald published graphic pictures of her, and much of Bostonand the count
Their Hairdresser Knows
In 1984, my husband and I were struggling in our home in Windsor, Conn., to keep a healthy balance with five children, an aged mother and three grandchildren. I hassled town officials for a permit to open and operate a beauty salon in the basement of our home. The granting of the zoning variance was
The Metaphorical Wall
Martin Luther King Jr. fought zealously to achieve for all the equality promised by the Declaration of Independence. His passion for justice was inspired by the Scriptures and the spirituals of his religion. The equality he fought for was an equality created first by God. Yet in the United States of
Of Many Things
Of Many Things
Something important happened a few weeks ago, though you didn’t read about it in any newspaper, see it on television or hear about it on the radio. In fact, you didn’t hear about this at all: a small brass key was handed over to my mother by her neighbor across the street. But it was…
Letters
Letters
Adopted Sons
Adoption: A Life-Giving Choice, by Thomas P. Muldoon (11/29), recalled to me a poignant personal experience. Several weeks ago I attended by accident (I had wandered into the wrong room) a session on adoption at the Lesbian and Gay Center in lower Manhattan. The principal speakers were a gay couple who had arranged to…
Editorials
Tsunami
It struck without warning on working families in poor fishing villages and on vacationing tourists in upscale resorts. The tsunami, caused by a 9.0-magnitude earthquake 155 miles southeast of Banda Aceh, the provincial capital of Sumatra, killed more than 150,000 people and left millions homeless al
Books
For the Greater Glory
In the sort of paradox typical of the Christian story as the number of Jesuits in the United States declines it appears that more and more lay women and men find themselves deeply attracted to and committed to the Ignatian spiritual tradition mdash to such an extent that many like Ronald Modras
Bob on Bob
When Columbia Records celebrated Bob Dylan rsquo s 30th anniversary in the music business in 1992 they feted him with a star-studded concert at Madison Square Garden During the long evening of music legendary artists paid homage to rock rsquo s poet laureate by performing incredible songs from th
Clear-Eyed Courage
There is something of an unwritten rule among many writers that unless you rsquo re a celebrity or have done something truly extraordinary you shouldn rsquo t come out with a memoir until you hit at least retirement age if not beyond That rationale counts even more if you rsquo re a journalist It
The Word
Can You Hear Me Now?
A clever advertisement for cellular phone service has found a niche in the popular consciousness The question ldquo Can you hear me now rdquo suggests that with this system reception is good anywhere in the world mdash if you are open to the call This all sounds like a vocation ad mdash not me
Movers and Shakers
Idealistic young people are not the only people who yearn to change the world Committed social workers and politicians share that desire as do scientific and medical researchers Parents always say that they want a better world for their children Teachers too seek to equip students with the skill
Columns
Matters of Which We Dare Not Speak
At midday on Christmas Eve, I found myself under a large white tent adjacent to St. John’s Church in downtown Newark, where I was mingling with hundreds of poor and homeless people from that impoverished and battered city. I wish I could tell you I was there out of the goodness of my heart, gi
News
Signs of the Times
Catholic Agencies Mobilize for ReliefAs the death toll from the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunamis soared, Pope John Paul II praised the international community for rapidly mobilizing aid efforts and said the church’s charitable agencies were doing the same. In a statement on Dec. 30, Carita
Politics
Faith
Culture
Vatican
Scripture
Podcasts