The W.T.O. in Crisis
International trade continues. So do trade negotiations, but with a very big exception: those under the global umbrella of the World Trade Organization have collapsed. At the end of July the W.T.O.’s ruling general council agreed to an indefinite suspension of the “Doha development&rdquo
A Writer, or a Parish Priest Who Writes?
The situation in which a priest who writes lives has changed drastically since I wrote my first article for America in the 1950’s (“A Road Show for Cana”). My pastor at the time reprimanded me for writing, because his monsignorial friends had criticized him for permitting it. Theoretically a diocesan priest did not need permission…
Of Many Things
Of Many Things
As poetry editor for America, I had occasion recently to view the Rev. John P. McNamee’s new book of poems, Donegal Suite (Dufour Editions, Chester Springs, Pa.). Father McNamee has been an inner-city priest for over 30 years in Philadelphia. His memoir of his time at Saint Malachy parish, ent
Letters
Letters
Call to Serve
The article Religious Life at the Brink, by Donald Senior, C.P., (10/16) was certainly thought-provoking; but what of today’s brothers? I would like to see an article dealing with them and their call to serve Christ, not only with their hands but intellectually and academically as well, according to the spirituality of their…
Editorials
Facing the New Year
On Dec. 31, Christians traditionally give thanks to God for the blessings they have received during the year that is ending. On Jan. 1 and on the feast of the Epiphany a few days later, they might equally well give thanks for the gifts of faith and intelligence that will guide them through the new…
Shutting Pandora’s Box
When the Bush administration took the nation to war in Iraq, like the mythical Pandora it set loose a host of ills upon the world. The invasion opened the way for sectarian strife and civil war in Iraq; it assisted the advance of Shiite Islam across the Middle East; and it increased Israel’s v
Faith in Focus
Epiphany Under Empire
The origins of the feast of the Epiphany are historically complicated and ecclesially disputed. We might think of it as a kind of peace offering from the Western to the Eastern church, given the latter’s date (surely older) of Jan. 6 for the feast of the Nativity. The 12 Days of Christmas, in turn, bridge…
A Mother Fears Death
My son is one year old today. That phrase still warms and unnerves me simultaneously: my son. What has changed in this year? The answer that first comes to mind is simply, now I’m afraid of death. Yes, it is a morbid thought, and I do not usually say it aloud. But I feel the…
Books
The Nature of It All
In The Language of God Francis Collins has written more of an apologia for his personal religious beliefs than an argument for religious belief itself Were Collins not one of the leading scientists in the world having directed the International Human Genome Project which successfully completed m
One Tough Community
ldquo We don rsquo t care about your future You rsquo re an inmate and all inmates are the same rdquo Such were the bleak words of a prison official addressed to Michael Santos who is serving time in a federal facility The official a ldquo unit manager rdquo was angry with him for…
Poetry
The Marriage at Cana: Jan Steen (1676)
Indifferent to miracles
The Word
Particular and Universal
nbsp The word Epiphany derives from a Greek term that means ldquo showing forth manifestation making public rdquo According to the account of the Epiphany in Matthew 2 magi or wise men from the East perhaps Persia or Babylonia came to Israel to pay homage to the newborn king of the Jews
Signs of Gods Power and Glory
In John rsquo s Gospel the miracles performed by Jesus are called signs A sign is usually not an end in itself What is more important is the reality to which a sign points The signs done by Jesus point forward to the ldquo hour rdquo of Jesus and to the divine glory made manifest…
Columns
Peace on Earth
“Peace on earth is not just a holiday greeting. Every Jan. 1 the pope issues a message for the World Day of Peace, reminding us that peace is practical, peace is possible, and it is our calling. Peace is practical because it is foundational; without it, we cannot achieve other aims. Catholic Relief
Culture
Uniting Human, Cosmic and Divine
I was introduced to Raimon Panikkar in the mid-1960’s by a colleague of mine, Thomas Berry, at Fordham University in the Bronx. While the three of us walked to a local restaurant for lunch, Panikkar sketched his whole concept of the world’s religions as expressions of the Trinity. In his
News
Signs of the Times
Relief Efforts in Darfur Fail to Reach the NeedyDespite the efforts of Caritas Internationalis and other agencies in the war-torn Darfur region of western Sudan, a large percentage of the people who need aid do not receive it, according to the president of Caritas Internationalis, Denis Vienot. The
Politics
Faith
Culture
Vatican
Scripture
Podcasts