The Fence
In view of the sexual abuse scandal that has shaken the Catholic Church, I think it is only fair to give an example of how most Catholic priests relate to the young. About 45 years ago, my son Michael was trying my patience, talking back, sassing his teachers and coming home bloodied from fist fight
Longing for a Pentecostal Church: Mindful of JoyFew RebukesInterpreting Scripture, Moral Issues
“All of us long for a pentecostal church: a church in which the Spirit rules, and not the letter; a church in which understanding breaks down the fences we erect against each other. We are impatient with a church which seems so unpentecostal, so unspiritual, so narrow and fearful. Joseph Ratzinger s
Iraq Now. Iran Next?
On the day I write this column, The New York Times has published side by side on its front page two articles that embody the divergent possibilities of our future in Iraq. The United States, contrary to all previous statements, will join Iran and Syria in talks on Iraq. As the Iraq Study Group had…
Toward Immigration Reform
As the 110th U.S. Congress convened, with great expectations of bipartisan cooperation, one of the top items on its ambitious legislative agenda was immigration. For several years the nation has debated the controversial issue, with all sides in agreement that the immigration system should be reform
Saving the Jordan
On a stunning midwinter’s day, with blue sky above and a gentle breeze blowing, I stand on the banks of the River Jordan, a 30 minute walk from the Sea of Galilee. To my left is a small dam; the river stops, for all intents and purposes, here. To my right is the source of…
Touching the Fabric of Life
A shard of bone from the body of St. Francis Xavier—I held it in my hand, gazing at this tiny remnant of a human body centuries old, contained under glass in its small reliquary. This particular relic belongs to one of two collections of relics with which Ihave become familiar at Jesuit parish
Of Many Things
Of Many Things
I hope you will not think it hopelessly chauvinistic if I suggest that we no longer celebrate St. Patrick’s Day but St. Patrick’s season, at least in the Northeast. On the day itself, March 17, New York City will hold its oldest and grandest parade. But because so many neighboring towns
Letters
Letters
Good of the Church
My head shook in disbelief upon reading in The Rights of God’s People by Rev. Kevin E. McKenna (2/19). Canon 212.3 states that the faithful have the right and even at times the duty to manifest their opinion on matters that pertain to the good of the church and to make their…
Editorials
Counterrevolution
In the long march of freedom, revolutions one day are blocked by counterrevolutions that shift the aim of government from liberty to order. England’s Glorious Revolution was followed by the restoration of the British monarchy, and the French Revolution by the conservative Concert of Europe. Fo
Books
A More Fitting Image
The cover for this delightful collection of interconnected essays is the famous photo taken in 1932 of 11 ironworkers enjoying a relaxed lunch break as they sit side by side perched on an I-beam a thousand feet up in open space overlooking mid-Manhattan their legs nonchalantly dangling from the sk
Stand by to Stand by’
Comparing himself to Flannery O 8217 Connor the novelist Walker Percy describes himself as a writer of the Catholic perspective in the 20th century From a Catholic perspective at least Christianity underwrites those very properties of the novel without which there is no novel I am speaking of
Ties That Don’t Bind
These nine tales show sons no longer connecting with mothers, mothers no longer close to their sons. A grand storyteller, Colm Tóibín uncovers dark truths about family relationships in today’s Ireland and, in a long final story, in Spain’s Catalonia.
Film
Trust: Breach
Trust receives no flag-draped coffin, no posthumous medals and stirring eulogies, but it has ever been a tragic casualty of war, and we have been in a state of war for nearly a century now. Words lose their meaning, and covenants prove hollow. What political leader can we believe? Who from the busin
The Word
Three Great Lenten Themes
Three great themes run through the Sunday readings for Lent this year the exodus the justice and mercy of God and the paschal mystery the saving significance of Jesus rsquo death and resurrection This Sunday rsquo s readings develop and deepen those themes nbsp Today rsquo s Old Testament
Current Comment
Current Comment
Noahs DinosaursDuring eight days last September, 16-year-old Matthew LaClair carried a concealed tape recorder to his 11th-grade American history class at Kearny High School in Kearny, N.J. He recorded any comments about religion made by his teacher, 38-year-old David Paszkiewicz. Matthew, whose fam
News
Signs of the Times
Influx of Iraqis to Jordan Strains ResourcesThe enormous influx of Iraqis over the past five years has put a large burden on Jordan, said church aid officials who are trying to help the refugees. Though official estimates put the number of Iraqi refugees in Jordan at about 1 million, Catholic groups
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