At Home With Religion
Senator Barack Obama, who announced his candidacy for the U.S presidency on Feb. 10, has been lauded time and again for his remarkable charisma. It is true that when he is on the stage, you have trouble looking at anybody else. Yet charisma gets you only so far in politics. Another reason Obama has
Criminals All?
Last May in Oaxaca, one of Mexico’s poorest states, members of the national teachers’ union began a strike for higher salaries, which led to an encampment in the city’s central square. The Mexican government initiated a repression of the teachers’ struggle, which then expande
Of Many Things
Of Many Things
Back in the 19th and early 20th centuries, when a group of like-minded individuals wanted to found a movement, they usually started by founding a magazine. The Atlantic Monthly was the brainchild of Oliver Wendell Holmes, Ralph Waldo Emerson and other Boston luminaries who wanted to create a place t
Letters
Letters
Into the Richness
Kudos for selecting a beautiful piece of artwork from the award-winning and gifted Janet McKenzie for the cover of America on Feb. 19. The painting of Mary Magdalene and Jesus provoked for me such a lengthy meditation that it was quite a while before I opened the artistic door to delve into the…
Editorials
The Libby Trial
The 12 jurors responsible for deciding the fate of I. Lewis Libby Jr., former chief of staff for Vice President Dick Cheney, faced a perplexing task. Mr. Libby was charged with obstruction of justice, lying to federal agents and perjuring himself before a grand jury during an investigation to determ
Books
Fantasies Abounding
Viktor Frankenstein created the Monster Walt Disney created Walt Disney but the outcome was pretty much the same The creation takes control of the creator Even more chilling in Neal Gabler rsquo s unspoken subtext is the suggestion that the Disney empire provides a cautionary tale for America M
For the sake of…?
Two churchmen made headlines in 2006 with their comments about mandatory celibacy for Latin rite Catholic priests Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo of Zambia dropped from sight in Rome and appeared in the United States with his wife Maria Sung In July he founded Married Priests Now an association of m
Radical Expressions’
De gustibus non est disputandum is a snippet of medieval wisdom mostly honored in the breach as evidenced by Michael Kammen 8217 s Visual Shock a cheerful history of more than a century and a half of arguments about art Kammen is a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian of American culture and his re
The Word
Repentance and Forgiveness
One of the most beloved parts of the Bible is the parable of the prodigal son In the context of Luke 15 it serves to explain why Jesus spent so much time and energy on ministering to such religiously marginal persons as tax collectors and sinners While the parable can be approached from many angle
Columns
Renew-ing Theology on Tap
More than a quarter-century ago, the Archdiocese of Chicago embarked on what must have seemed a radical idea at the time: catechetical barhopping. Well, that’s probably a bit too glib and irreverent. But it’s also not far from the truth. The program, after all, was called Theology on Tap
Current Comment
Current Comment
An Anglican Schism? Rowan Williams, the archbishop of Canterbury, faces an almost impossible challenge. Last week in Tanzania, a gathering of three dozen Anglican bishops rebuked their American branch, the Episcopal Church, for supporting gay clergy; consecrating Bishop V. Gene Robinson, an openly g
Faith
The Disabled Jesus
Catholic tradition helps me navigate the dangerous waters of medical decision-making.
News
Signs of the Times
Vatican Rejects Appeal Against ExcommunicationThe Vatican’s highest court said it has no jurisdiction over a decision in March 1996 by Bishop Fabian W. Bruskewitz of Lincoln, Neb., that Catholics in his diocese who are members of Call to Action Nebraska and 10 other organizations were automati
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