A Broken Contract
As we enter the fifth year of our nation’s war in Iraq, I am deeply distressed by the state of the American military and by the rate at which our government and the citizenry at large are betraying those who volunteer to serve our country. There is a social contract between a country and those…
Treatment, Not Prison
My journey from childhood to prison, and my abrupt release from a near-life sentence for growing marijuana, is an unlikely one. I grew up in rural northwestern Kansas as one of eight siblings of Catholic parents. I am proud to say that I have a brother who has been a priest for close to 30…
Wasting the Best and the Brightest
The recent report of The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University, Wasting the Best and the Brightest: Substance Abuse at America’s Colleges and Universities, reveals a disturbing ambiance of hedonistic self-indulgence and an alarming public health crisis on college campuses across this nation.
Of Manners and Ministry
A monk I know, who called me while on his way to give a conference to a group of diocesan priests, hoped aloud that one of the younger priests would absent himself from the gathering. “He is so certain of his own corner on the truth and his own absolute allegiance to magisterial authority as…
Of Many Things
Of Many Things
The best-known prayer among American Catholics, after the Our Father and the Hail Mary, may be the one to Anthony of Padua, which goes, Saint Anthony, Saint Anthony, please come around. Something is lost and cannot be found. How many times have you turned to the Portuguese-born Franciscan after losing your keys?
Letters
Letters
Matter for Reflection
Your advertisement that reads, Do you have a child or grandchild going to a non-Catholic college? Give them a Catholic education. Send them America. (4/9) has appeared numerous times over the past several years. As a Catholic ecumenist, I have always wondered how this advertisement strikes religion teachers and librarians in non-Catholic colleges,…
Editorials
A National Shame
Memorial Day dates to 1868 and General John Logan, commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, who called for a day to honor fallen Union and Confederate soldiers. As on that occasion, this Memorial Day we pause to give thanks, grieve and consider the sacrifices that American soldiers have made for this country.
Faith in Focus
A Woman Who Cared
It would not be easy to forget Sister Lucía, the frail little nun whom I met in a strange and terrible place, the Manicomio de San Lazaro in Quito, Ecuador.
Books
Living to Tell
Ayaan Hirsi Ali was living in Holland on Sept 11 2001 when jetliners piloted by Muslim fanatics crashed into the World Trade Center killing thousands As a Muslim Ali had urgent questions Was this really Islam Did Islam permit even call for this kind of slaughter Did I as a Muslim approv
A Time to Remember
Watching old movies provokes a strange set of conflicted emotions All those beautiful people up there on the screen are frozen in time locked in eternal youth and bringing joy to yet another generation of viewers Sadly however time slips by as relentlessly as the strip of film through the proje
Communal Ecstasy!
Dancing in the Streets is a study of the gatherings of people for frenzied communal festivity or what the author Barbara Ehrenreich calls ldquo collective joy rdquo throughout the ages It is a thoroughgoing piece of social history The book should also appeal to students of religion drama pol
The Word
The God of Truth and Love
Two of the most important words in any language that I know are truth and love As we observe Trinity Sunday and reflect on the Christian doctrine of God as three persons in one God the Scripture readings also remind us that the God of the Christian Bible mdash Father Son and Holy Spirit mdash…
Columns
Firm Foundations
Global politics can sometimes have unexpected, and very local, side effects. I guess it’s a bit like the proverbial butterfly flapping its wings in the Indian Ocean and causing a tornado in Kentucky. Events that seem remote and impersonal can cause tidal waves in the lives of very small people.
Current Comment
Current Comment
Big Deal for Big PharmaBy a vote of 49 to 40, the Senate approved an amendment that effectively excludes U.S. citizens from importing prescription drugs from abroad. The amendment requires prior F.D.A. certification of imported medicines, certification the administration says the agency is not equip
Faith
Of Many Things
The best-known prayer among American Catholics, after the Our Father and the Hail Mary, may be the one to Anthony of Padua, which goes, Saint Anthony, Saint Anthony, please come around. Something is lost and cannot be found. How many times have you turned to the Portuguese-born Franciscan after losing your keys?
News
Signs of the Times
Pope in Brazil Speaks on Discipleship and MissionSpeaking at the opening session at Aparecida, Brazil, on May 13 of a meeting of Latin American and Caribbean bishops, Pope Benedict XVI said the faith has serious challenges to address, because the harmonious development of society and the Catholic id
Politics
Faith
Culture
Vatican
Scripture
Podcasts