Facing East

On Nov. 30, 2004, an extraordinary liturgical event took place in St. George’s Church in Istanbul, the cathedral of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. As Patriarch Bartholomew presided nearby, glass cases containing the remains of two of his predecessors were placed on the patriarc

by Ronald G. Roberson, C.S.P.,

Letters

Important Parallels

In his article, Some Forgotten Lessons (4/25), Jason R. Rowe illustrated some important parallels between American military attitudes now, as seen in Afghanistan and Iraq, and those that were operative in El Salvador during the 1980’s. The Salvador Option is truly an insidious concept, when one remembers what the government-sponsored death squads did in…

by America Staff

Editorials

Global Governance

Critics have been talking for years of the need to reform the United Nations. In this country the pressure has frequently come from conservative politicians like the late Senator Jesse Helms, who are jealously protective of U.S. sovereignty and begrudging of funding for the international organizatio

by The Editors

Short Take

Is This Transparency?

A plenary council or regional synod may not have been good ideas anyway. But more and more, the attitude appears to be that the church’s business is the bishops’ business and no one else’s; openness and a desire to involve others in church affairs seem to have become passé. It is worth considering why.

by Russell Shaw

Books

Off to (Another) Greenland?

Not long ago surely in a fit of masochism I dusted off The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire What with the current administration rsquo s tactful outsourcing of war to the brave but dominantly underclass warrior lack of interest for anything that smacks of environmental concern and the conspi

by Paul Wilke

Colorful, Cajun, Catholic

The thesis of this book is that like Nazareth this town hidden in the Cajun country of south central Louisiana has been the home of holy people whom an oblivious world ought to know about And it rsquo s true Grand Coteau La makes Nazareth in Galilee look like the Great White Way Can anything

by Thomas H. Stahel

Separation Anxiety

This is a provocative even polemical book The provocation flows from the near-taboo question it raises a question that merits a serious hearing How much time do children need with parents especially mothers Do we need to scrutinize closely America rsquo s ongoing massive historically unprece

by John A. Coleman

Film

Adrift on a Wine-Dark Sea: Sideways

Most people drink in order to enjoy wine. Miles Raymond (Paul Giamatti) enjoys wine in order to drink. Surely there are as many definitions of alcoholism as there are drinkers, or even as there are people who have ever thought about it, but Miles has enough classic symptoms to give friends reason to

by Richard A. Blake

The Word

The God of Love and Peace

quot The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ the love of God and the fellowship or community koinon a of the Holy Spirit be with all of you rdquo This passage taken from Paul rsquo s First Letter to the Corinthians is familiar to many of us for it is often used as the…

by Dianne Bergant

Columns

Angels in Disguise

I am sitting at my desk near the library’s back door when I notice a hat on the floor. Evidently one of the many theology students rushing to class dropped it. I notice that it is a fine hat, made of wool and clearly hand-knit, so I trust its owner will return shortly. If not,…

by Lorraine V. Murray

Faith

Is This Transparency?

A plenary council or regional synod may not have been good ideas anyway. But more and more, the attitude appears to be that the church’s business is the bishops’ business and no one else’s; openness and a desire to involve others in church affairs seem to have become passé. It is worth considering why.

by Russell Shaw

The God of Love and Peace

quot The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ the love of God and the fellowship or community koinon a of the Holy Spirit be with all of you rdquo This passage taken from Paul rsquo s First Letter to the Corinthians is familiar to many of us for it is often used as the…

by Dianne Bergant

News

Signs of the Times

Cardinal, Not Pope, Will Preside at Beatification of Marianne CopeMother Marianne Cope of Molokai, Hawaii, will be beatified in mid-May, but Pope Benedict XVI will not celebrate the beatification Mass. For years, Vatican officials and theologians have been discussing the possibility of returning to

by From AP, CNS, RNS, Staff and other sources