Changing the Rules
The Boston Globe began publishing on Jan. 6, 2002, a series of reports regarding sexual abuse of children by priests in the Archdiocese of Boston. In a flash, newspapers around the country began reprinting the Globe’s reports and developing their own. They published 728 stories in January, 1,0
Fleeing to Buffalo
Buffalo, frigid northern city of—refugees? Yes, refugees. I spent a week in Buffalo last June helping out in a small Jesuit parish, St. Ann’s, located in one of the city’s poorest neighborhoods. Among the first issues the pastor told me about was the struggle of refugees and asylum
The Silenced Monk
Thomas Merton spent almost half his life in the Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani, a Trappist monastery in Kentucky. Strict silence was an integral part of the Trappist way of life when he entered in 1941. Merton took readily to the rule of strict silence, but circumvented it when necessary. By the mi
Of Many Things
Of Many Things
The first cold day of the approaching winter found me at the Hoboken Shelter in New Jersey, the only shelter in that rapidly gentrifying city across the Hudson River from Manhattan (www.hobokenshelter.org). Housed in a 19th-century Lutheran church, the shelter has had as its guiding spirit for three
Letters
Letters
Long-Suffering People
In the whirligig of Philippine politics, faceless power brokers in the shadows are constantly trying to destabilize the elected government (Current Comment, 4/24).
When the maverick Col. Gregorio Gringo Honasan led the final coup attempt against then-President Cory Aquino, a major Manila daily published my single-sentence letter: After six coup attempts, who is behind them?…
Editorials
The True Costs of War
As the nation moves beyond the third anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, difficult choices lie ahead. While it has become increasingly clear that the war in Iraq has not made the United States more secure or the world a safer place, future U.S. policy in Iraq is not nearly as clear. Would the prema
Faith in Focus
Battlegrounds
Iraq receives all the headlines these days. But the truth is there is a war being waged in the homeland, a battleground in nursing homes across the country. In the past five months my mother has been in three of them as her health and self-reliance deteriorate. The latest is a 13-floor monolith wher
A Rose From Mother
My pager went off at 5 p.m., just after my husband and I had come home from work. I called the long-term care facility where I was the director of nurses. The receptionist told me to call immediately the emergency room of one of our local hospitals. When I asked for the nurse who had…
The Tower
Though she first introduced me to intercontinental travel, Auntie Lee does not venture very far anymore. Mostly she is pushed in her wheelchair from bed to dining room, from recreation – movies, sing-alongs, the Rosary – to her usual post across from the nursing station at Abbott Terrace, a long-ter
Books
Cash Grant, Anyone?
Did the founding fathers have in mind today rsquo s roughly 500 billion-a-year federal social programs when they penned the constitutional pledge to promote the general Welfare What is the general welfare anyway and who should be its caretaker These are some of the questions Charles Murray raise
Mission Overshadowed
Baghdad is burning when Paul Bremer arrives in May 2003 It is still burning when he leaves 14 months later The fires of looters have been replaced by attacks from an insurgency that intensified during his tour of duty as head of the Coalition Provisional Authority Things get so hot in the land Br
The Word
Abiding in Love
One of the most prominent and profound words in John’s theological lexicon is the term for “remain in, abide, dwell in” (Greek menein). It describes the relationship with God that Jesus’ life, death and resurrection have made possible for those who believe and love.
Ascension and Mission
Luke is the New Testament author most responsible for our concept of the Easter season and the Ascension of Jesus At the beginning of Acts Luke rsquo s sequel to his Gospel he tells us that the risen Jesus made appearances to his disciples during the 40 days after Easter and ascended to heaven T
Current Comment
Current Comment
Professionals and PatriotsWashington has rumbled for years with rumors of professional dissent at the Pentagon and C.I.A. from Bush administration policies in the war on terror and the invasion of Iraq. Occasionally the dissent has become public, as when Gen. Eric Shinseki, then chairman of the Join
Faith
Abiding in Love
One of the most prominent and profound words in John’s theological lexicon is the term for “remain in, abide, dwell in” (Greek menein). It describes the relationship with God that Jesus’ life, death and resurrection have made possible for those who believe and love.
News
Signs of the Times
Peace Gathering Marks 20 Years Since AssisiThemes of prayer, peace, justice, love, dialogue and care for the poor intermingled as representatives of world religions gathered in Washington, D.C., on April 26 for the 2006 International Prayer for Peace. It marked the 20th anniversary of the first such
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