Ignatius Special Way of Proceeding
Every culture tends to harbor stereotypes of what a saint is supposed to be like and tends to fit the individual into a mold that may be misleading or one-sided. We see what we want to see, or what we think we are supposed to see, and thus are blinded to what may be unconventional…
Faiths Call to Justice
In an earlier issue of America (3/27), I discussed three New Testament passages that are often used to argue for a separation of faith from public life: “The poor you will always have with you,” “Render to Caesar…” and “The kingdom of God is within you.” I tried
Reforming the System
The inhumane treatment of prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad shocked and puzzled Americans. How could soldiers dedicated to the spread of democracy, with its protection of basic human rights, have behaved in such a brutal way? Unfortunately, few Americans saw Abu Ghraib as an opportunity
Neighborly, Reflective, Committed
In the city of Ground Zero, what are Muslims saying about cartoons? When I ask the question to Muslim friends, they tell me stories I wish more people could hear. Muslims in New York seem remarkably unconsumed by the cartoons, because well before 9/11 they understood the need to be self-critical and
Actions of Hope
On my fifth day at the project, I was asked to work with the carpenters who were refitting and expanding tool bins on 18-foot flatbed trailers. The number of volunteers was rapidly increasing, necessitating an increase in our capacity to get wrecking and dismantling tools into the field. From 50 wee
Of Many Things
Of Many Things
This is the season of parish closings, consolidations and reconfigurations. After watching the phenomenon at a distance for some years, it has finally struck home for me with a one-two punch. Late this spring the Archdiocese of New York announced the closure of my boyhood parish, St. Paul on Staten
Letters
Letters
The Truth of Parable
While I very much enjoyed reading Peter C. Erb’s The Schwenkfelder Code (6/5), I would have to object to a few of its assertions. I cringed when the author suggested that a faith based on a fictional narrative was adolescent. Since the embrace of historical-critical methods in the field of biblical scholarship,…
Editorials
Refugees in Peril
Forced from their homes by armed conflicts, political unrest and human rights abuses, refugees and asylum seekers throughout the world continue their painful search for safety. According to the 2006 World Refugee Survey, released recently by the nonprofit U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants,
Faith and Reason
The Corporate University
The commercialization or “corporatization” of American higher education has dramatically changed the character and conduct of colleges and universities over the past quarter century. The literature on this subject is large and growing. A mere sampling of recent works includes: Universiti
Faith in Focus
Christ, Come Quickly
When I returned to the United States from Nigeria in 2000, I was assigned to work in a downtown parish of New Orleans, where Harry Tompson was the only Jesuit and pastor. Harry, who had cancer of the prostate, was not afraid of many things, if anything. He used to say, “It’s not death I
Books
Money Over People
Louis Uchitelle a veteran New York Times reporter examines the human costs of focusing on short-term financial gains and globalization mdash outsourcing downsizing and layoffs Millions experience the resulting anxiety and illness in their daily lives In The Disposable American Uchitelle investi
Search and Witness
Whenever I assign a book by Charles Curran in a moral theology course my students rsquo first questions are always quot Have you met him What is he like quot It is not surprising that they are curious about Curran As this newly released memoir recounts at a relatively young age Curran becam
He Prefers This Life
This fine new collection by the distinguished poet Jack Gilbert looks back on the pleasures of many years with what he calls ldquo a tough happiness rdquo ldquo The Garden rdquo Gilbert rsquo s life has been an odyssey taking off from his native Pittsburgh which developed in him ldquo a ta
Film
Gentle Into That Good Night: A Prairie Home Companion
Dr. T. J. Eckleburg’s eyes, an optometrist’s billboard on the road to Jay Gatsby’s mansion, stared patiently out over the Jazz Age, without blinking, without judgment, without tears. In their pitiless observation of America drowning in its own bootleg liquor and easy money, the eye
The Word
Transfiguration as Christophany
The Transfiguration is the event in which the inner circle of Jesus rsquo disciples experienced his true glorious nature as a kind of preview or anticipation of his glory as the risen Lord When the feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord falls on a Sunday its readings supersede those of the Sun
Spiritual Hunger and the Bread of Life
In today rsquo s world there is a great hunger for spiritual sustenance Millions of people believe that there are realities beyond material possessions that the questions about who we are and what will become of us must be addressed and that we cannot reach peace of mind and soul without acknowled
Columns
A Nation of Idol-Worshipers
The columnist Russell Baker once wrote a piece about the discovery he made one evening after he retired to his basement and, with nothing else to do, turned on the television set. All sorts of new and alien life forms invaded the basement. There was, he would write, a country living in his cellara c
Current Comment
Current Comment
Disproportionate and CounterproductiveThe Middle East is ablaze again. Following provocations by Hamas in Israel and Hezbollah along the Israeli-Lebanese border, Israel has sent its forces first into Gaza and then into Lebanon. While the immediate provocations seemed to be the kidnapping of Israeli
Faith
The Corporate University
The commercialization or “corporatization” of American higher education has dramatically changed the character and conduct of colleges and universities over the past quarter century. The literature on this subject is large and growing. A mere sampling of recent works includes: Universiti
News
Signs of the Times
Church Leaders Call for Peace in MideastPope Benedict XVI endorsed a declaration by the Group of 8 that criticized the militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah for fueling an escalation in fighting and urged Israel to exercise restraint. "I find myself in full agreement with the G-8 communiqué,&quo
Politics
Faith
Culture
Vatican
Scripture
Podcasts