Of Many Things
Trump deserved to be impeached—but our nation’s problems run deeper than one man
President Trump’s departure from Washington, D.C., will not heal the country in the ways we tend to think it will. The cycle of rivalry and violence will likely recur.
Your Take
‘I fell to my knees’: Reader reactions to the Capitol riot
A selection of reader comments from across America’s coverage of the riot.
Editorials
When it’s your turn, get the Covid-19 vaccine. It’s an act of love, charity and solidarity.
We will surely benefit if all our prominent national and local leaders—Catholic bishops and priests among them—are crystal clear about the safety of the vaccines.
Short Take
Microplastics are toxic to fetal development—a reminder that the environment is a pro-life issue, too.
Tiny pieces of plastic waste, already found at the top of Mount Everest and the bottom of the ocean, may now have a toehold in the human womb, writes Kathleen Bonnette.
Dispatches
Who will be the first Black Catholic saint from the United States?
None of the saints associated with the United States are of African descent. The Institute for Black Catholic Studies at Xavier University intends to change that, and here are six possibilities for sainthood.
With Congress in turmoil, Catholic charities mobilize to respond to Covid-19 hunger crisis
A global hunger crisis, foretold in the beginning days of the Covid-19 crisis, is being realized.
Does it matter if a charity calls itself ‘Catholic’? The church in Montreal faces a question at the heart of its mission
“The church cannot withdraw from the field of charity.”
Nuns founded Chicago’s oldest hospital. Today Black Catholics are fighting to keep it open.
Chicago’s oldest hospital, founded by the Sisters of Mercy in 1852, may soon be relegated to history.
Pope Francis has endorsed a universal basic income. Covid-19 could make it a reality in Europe.
As the second Covid-19 wave swept Europe so too has a burgeoning conversation about Universal Basic Income.
Features
Federico Peña made history as the first Hispanic mayor of Denver. Now, he is imagining a better church.
Nichole Flores profiles Federico Peña, the first Hispanic mayor of Denver and a leader in national politics, who is now focused on the physical and spiritual health of his community.
St. Ignatius was against women Jesuits. Do his arguments still hold up?
Saint Ignatius was opposed to women Jesuits for reasons that were cultural, practical and canonical, but other Jesuits were not. The question was a hot topic in the early Society.
Faith and Reason
Six Catholics are on the Supreme Court. What they should do on death penalty cases isn’t clear—or satisfying.
The Trump administration’s speed-up of federal executions is bringing new scrutiny to Catholic judges. Nathaniel V. Romano, S.J., writes about the challenges facing the faithful in a pluralist political system.
Faith in Focus
God’s voice or mine? 7 tips on what to listen to in prayer
Read an excerpt from Fr. James Martin’s new book on prayer
Why this Jesuit middle school is staying open while NYC public schools go remote
For Black, brown and poor students in-person schooling is an essential service.
Books
Review: Barack Obama’s boundless optimism for a brighter future
in Barack Obama’s new memoir, readers get to know a host of colorful characters who played a role in the campaign for the presidency and Obama’s first term in office.
Review: We are all responsible for the future of our planet
Eric Holthaus experiences climate change as a wound, a rending in the fabric of society and ecology.
Review: How a family’s faith becomes their downfall
This debut novel by 29-year-old Marieke Lucas Rijneveld won the 2020 International Booker Prize.
Review: In the crosshairs of the F.B.I.
Aaron J. Leonard’s new book draws from almost 10,000 pages of F.B.I. files on an array of folk artists. It aims to illustrate the considerable impact that the U.S. government’s campaign against Communism had on folk artists in the 1940s and early ’50s.
Review: ‘The Pull of the Stars’ brings a Gatsbyesque approach to finding humor in a pandemic
Emma Donoghue’s new novel unfolds over the course of All Hallows’ Eve, All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day—with a chatty cast of priests, nuns and philosophizing orderlies running about—adding to the sanctified air.
Music
How the pianist Mary Lou Williams found God (and made it to the Vatican)
Williams came to write “Mary Lou’s Mass” to capture her feeling of suffering—and its apotheosis.
Poetry
Your Presence Is Requested
he pawed through his closet like a bear in a blackberry bramble
At the Border
red-eared sliders who work the Rio Grande
The Word
The hand of God is with those on the frontline of care
Today’s Gospel prompts us to honor, appreciate and thank the many people who have been healers in our midst,
Now, more than ever, God calls us to treat the sick with dignity
The Gospel reminds us to treat all people, especially the sick, with dignity, care and respect.
God loves all of creation. We should too.
Today’s readings inspire us to be mindful and attuned to all of creation and the ways that we support or harm our fellow creatures.
Lent reminds us we are not alone in our quest for understanding
Today’s readings remind us we are not alone in our quest for understanding and clarity.
Last Take
Rep. Tom Suozzi: How Joe Biden’s Catholic faith will guide his presidency
As president, Joe Biden will have to seek common ground across a wide ideological spectrum, writes Congressman Tom Suozzi of New York. His relationship with God as a Catholic will help him to do so.
Faith
Who will be the first Black Catholic saint from the United States?
None of the saints associated with the United States are of African descent. The Institute for Black Catholic Studies at Xavier University intends to change that, and here are six possibilities for sainthood.
The hand of God is with those on the frontline of care
Today’s Gospel prompts us to honor, appreciate and thank the many people who have been healers in our midst,
Now, more than ever, God calls us to treat the sick with dignity
The Gospel reminds us to treat all people, especially the sick, with dignity, care and respect.
God loves all of creation. We should too.
Today’s readings inspire us to be mindful and attuned to all of creation and the ways that we support or harm our fellow creatures.
Lent reminds us we are not alone in our quest for understanding
Today’s readings remind us we are not alone in our quest for understanding and clarity.
God’s voice or mine? 7 tips on what to listen to in prayer
Read an excerpt from Fr. James Martin’s new book on prayer
St. Ignatius was against women Jesuits. Do his arguments still hold up?
Saint Ignatius was opposed to women Jesuits for reasons that were cultural, practical and canonical, but other Jesuits were not. The question was a hot topic in the early Society.
Politics
Faith
Culture
Vatican
Scripture
Podcasts