A Jewish-Catholic Friendship
Cardinal John J. O’Connor died five years ago, but I frequently remember the times we worked together on the critical issues faced by our two communities. Our friendship was a result of the Second Vatican Council. In October 1965, 2,200 Catholic bishops adopted Nostra Aetate, the Declaration o
Mutual Teachers
No painting in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York is more iconic than Paul Cézanne’s “Bather,” the pensive young man walking on water in a spare blue and beige landscape. For decades he greeted visitors in the first room of the earlier museum. He currently pres
Of Many Things
Of Many Things
Here are two ways God works. First, God seems to clear a path so obviously that you can’t doubt God’s activity. As St. Paul wrote, All things work together for good for those who love God. Second, God seems to make achieving something so difficult that you realize that the struggle is pa
Letters
Letters
Diverse Ecclesiologies
I read Christopher Ruddy’s review of volume two of my Christian Community in History with some surprise (8/1). The whole two-volume work is a history, not of the church, but of ecclesiology, the understanding of the church. Thus I was pleased when he wrote of the author’s largely evenhanded expositions of diverse ecclesiologies and…
Editorials
Labor Day
Abusive labor practices continue to plague workers here and around the worlda circumstance that should give pause to those fortunate enough to earn comfortable incomes for themselves and their families. For many it may come as a surprise that even here in the United States, worker exploitation is pe
Faith in Focus
A Healing in Haiti
Fifteen minutes after landing in Haiti, I was having serious doubts as to whether or not this trip was a good idea. I had come to Haiti accompanying another Catholic college group at the request of my own school, to see about the possibility of setting up a joint yearly immersion trip. Our guide, a
Books
Measuring Up
The question that forms the title of Michael Crosby rsquo s work reveals the perspective from which he approaches the situation of contemporary religious life It is also a measure of hisand the book rsquo shonesty and realism He eschews a repetition of the contemporary rhetoric about religious lif
In a Fog
The best-selling novelist and semiotician Umberto Eco now applies his considerable skill to the matter of identity Along the way readers too will ponder who we are and how we know who we are In The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana An Illustrated Novel Eco rsquo s protagonist Yambo full name Gi
Still Struggling
Anne Lamott strews many bitter and distracting political asides throughout her new book of essays Plan B Further Thoughts on Faith but her honesty and humor rescue the book from being a polemic As she did in Traveling Mercies Lamott shares her day-to-day struggle to live as a Christian and the
The Word
None of My Business!
We all know individuals who pride themselves on “keeping their noses out of other people’s business.”
How Often Must I Forgive?
Some say that a unique feature of the Christian religion is its insistence on forgiveness. Today’s reading from Sirach shows that this is not true.
Columns
Dumping Arms
The Irish Republican Army’s recent announcement that it would dump arms and end its decades-long campaign against the British seemed oddly anticlimactic. Save for a brief episode in the mid-1990’s, the I.R.A. has been on a cease-fire since 1994. So its dump-arms order received only passi
Faith
Do Catholics Still Care About Labor?
From the 1930’s through the 1950’s, Catholic parishes operated more than 100 labor schools in the basements of immigrant churches. Parishioners learned about their rights as workers, Catholic social teaching and how to organize unions. For many, being a good Catholic and a good labor lea
None of My Business!
We all know individuals who pride themselves on “keeping their noses out of other people’s business.”
How Often Must I Forgive?
Some say that a unique feature of the Christian religion is its insistence on forgiveness. Today’s reading from Sirach shows that this is not true.
News
Signs of the Times
Brother Roger of Taizé Murdered in ChurchBrother Roger Schütz, the 90-year-old Protestant founder of the ecumenical Taizé community in France, was stabbed in the throat during a Vespers service in the Reconciliation Church near Maçon in France on Aug. 16. He died almost immediately. Some of thos
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Culture
Vatican
Scripture
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