A War of Ambition: U.S. misadventures in the Middle East
History, wrote T. S. Eliot in 1920, “deceives with whispering ambitions” and “guides us by vanities.” Over the past decade, ambitions and vanities have led the United States badly astray, nowhere more than in the Islamic world. Let us tally up the damage.Among most Americans,
What We Wrought: Taking responsibility for Iraq’s cycle of violence
We are living in a time of great extremity. The recent typhoon that tore through the Philippines left thousands dead. Countless people desperately need water, food and shelter, and many storm victims still cannot be reached. In Iraq, people live with bombs and explosions every day, but we hear almos
Down to Earth: A struggle over land and power in Honduras
Enrique, an older campesino with a graying mustache, spoke calmly, but he conveyed a deep sense of urgency. “We have been threatened,” he told us through an interpreter, “because we have defended the poorest people, the land and the water.” On Feb. 13, 2013, members of his vi
Mining Justice: Defending the environment and stopping violence in Honduras
A delegation representing Jesuit ministries in the United States and Canada met with Bishop Michael Lenihan, O.F.M., of La Ceiba, Honduras, on Sept. 10, 2013. Bishop Lenihan worked in Honduras from 2000 to 2009 and then returned in 2012, when he was made a bishop. Luke Hansen, S.J., participated in
Room at the Table: Hearing all sides on the future of Catholic education
Round tables have advantages. A round table has no head and confers a respectfully equal status on those who sit around it. The presence of a round table at the Paris Peace Talks helped end the Vietnam War in 1973. The legendary round table of King Arthur helped bring peace. And since it was easy…
Of Many Things
Of Many Things
Love of country is a good thing. American exceptionalism more often resembles lust.
Letters
Reply All
A.D.A. Writ LargeRe “Dignity of the Disabled” (Editorial, 1/20): I offer my sincere thanks to America for addressing the needs and rights of people with disabilities, and exhorting U.S. legislators to rectify the wrong and bring the U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilit
Editorials
A State of Their Own
The world awaits a Westphalia moment among the Sunni and Shiite branches of Islam.
Books
Bread of Sorrow
Thomas Nevin rsquo s The Last Years of Saint Th r se the sequel to his Th r se of Lisieux God rsquo s Gentle Warrior is at once beautiful and maddening It describes the final years of Th r se rsquo s life in great detail and with helpful insights but does it in…
Like A Good Neighbor
Robert Wuthnow of Princeton University is now pretty much the dean of American sociologists of religion. Much like the late Rev. Andrew Greeley, Wuthnow is a very prolific author, penning a book about once a year.
No Joke
Newspaper editorial writers labor long and hard and in relative obscurity to craft persuasive arguments to win readers to the publication rsquo s point of view on an issue But most readers surveys tell us give little more than a glance to the columns of black ink that carry those arguments The e
Theater
A God-Shaped Hole: A new ‘Godot’ on Broadway affirms Beckett’s brilliance
A new ‘Wait for Godot’ on Broadway affirms Samuel Beckett’s brilliance
The Word
Transforming Law
Christians in general and Catholics in particular sometimes have an uneasy relationship with the notion of law This uneasiness can be traced back to Jesus rsquo own confrontations with Jewish authorities regarding his interpretation of the law of Moses and later to the Apostle Paul rsquo s antith
Current Comment
Current Comment
Only a unified adherence to international humanitarian law can save Syria.
Of Other Things
Slumming
Two different responses to racial inequality and isolation in South Africa.
Signs Of the Times
‘New Era’ Under Pope Francis?
The cardinal who heads Pope Francis’ Council of Cardinals said the Catholic Church is entering a “new era” and accused critics of the pope’s statements on economic injustice of failing to “understand reality.”“Francis wants to lead the church in the same dir
News Briefs
Sporadic violence between Christian and Muslim gangs continued throughout the Central African Republic as leaders of the Muslim Seleka militia appeared to flee Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic on Jan. 26. • The Vatican spokesperson Federico Lombardi, S.J., confirmed on Jan. 2
Millennials Join March for Life
Despite single-digit temperatures, thousands descended on Washington on Jan. 22 to declare their opposition to abortion. Most of the red noses and chapped lips belonged to faces under 25. “We are the pro-life generation,” read signs carried by the marchers. The president of the March for
College Debt and Religious Life
Debt from college loans makes some men and women postpone joining a religious community, according to a survey of men and women professing final vows as members of a religious order. Ten percent of those who professed final vows in 2013 had an average amount of $31,000 in college debt and the averag
Despite Terror Strikes in Cairo, New Constitution Offers Hope
A series of bomb attacks rocked Cairo, Egypt, on Jan. 23, the day before the third anniversary of the street revolution in 2011 that toppled the Hosni Mubarak regime. Six people were killed, hundreds were injured, and the city’s police headquarters, strafed and scored in the aftermath of a mas
In Jordan Little Hope For ‘Geneva II’ Success
In Jordan’s capital city, Amman, prayers for peace were being offered by refugee Syrian Christians as talks between the warring sides in Syria’s civil war opened in the Swiss town of Montreux. Dubbed Geneva II, the talks aim for a transitional government, an end to the violence and the d
Washington Front
Beyond Red and Blue
Leaders responding to the pope’s indictment of an “economy of exclusion and inequality.”
Politics
Faith
Culture
Vatican
Scripture
Podcasts