Suspicious Minds: The spirituality of the postmodern nones
Much has been made about the “nones” and the current demographics of belief in the United States, especially those of young people. The term nones rose to prominence when a Pew Research Center poll in 2012 called “Nones on the Rise” discovered that nearly 20 percent of Americ
A View From Abroad: The shrinking common ground in the American church
It is very difficult for European Catholics to make sense of the polarization within the Catholic Church in the United States. I grew up in Northern Italy and studied and worked for almost 20 years at the University of Bologna, my alma mater and the oldest university in Europe, founded in 1088. In t
Our Secular Future: The redefinition of religious liberty in American society
Americans are rightly proud of our tradition of religious liberty. The founders recognized that religious convictions cut very deeply into the soul, making people capable of great sacrifices—and often stimulating bitter conflicts and terrible persecutions. Thus we have the First Amendment and
Of Many Things
Of Many Things
Separation of church and state is prudent; separation from the political is inconceivable.
Letters
Reply All
The Colbert Family“Truth and Truthiness,” by Patrick R. Manning (2/3), is a fine piece on Stephen Colbert. I was a fellow altar boy, schoolmate and lifelong friend of his father, James W. Colbert, M.D. A graduate of the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass., and Yale Medical Scho
Editorials
Rain Delay
California’s drought offers an opportunity to rethink human interference with natural forces.
Faith in Focus
Lost and Found: Encountering forgiveness in surprising places
Forty years after her mother’s death, the author finds forgiveness in unexpected places.
Books
Sisters on Screen
Dozens of well-known American and British actresses have portrayed religious women in film Some of them mdash Jennifer Jones in ldquo The Song of Bernadette rdquo and Susan Sarandon in ldquo Dead Man Walking rdquo mdash won Academy Awards for their performances There have been nuns who broke i
Epistolary Treasures: The vanishing art of letter-writing
There have been many famous letters and letter-writers in history One thinks immediately of Cicero who made it an art form Then of course we have St Paul who filled his letters to early Christian communities with advice and doctrine news from the front and occasional scoldings One also thin
The Best Spin Wins
The dysfunction that plagues Washington D C is usually attributed to ideological division and the attendant unwillingness to compromise A contrary explanation is discernible in Mark Leibovich rsquo s chatty book This Town According to Leibovich ldquo the city far from being hopelessly divide
Film
A Commercial Christ: ‘Son of God’ presents a beautiful, blockbuster Jesus.
The “Son of God” will probably enjoy box-office success. But does that justify portraying the Son of God as a blockbuster movie hero?
The Word
My Anxious Heart
My parents spoke German at home when they did not want the children to know what was being discussed which was often the children themselves It is a method parents use with varying success depending upon how well they have passed on the mother tongue I was not very old when I heard my parents…
Columns
A Mercy-Filled Lent
A more deliberate approach to sacrifice during this Lenten season
Current Comment
Current Comment
States should pay attention to Utah’s solution to chronic homelessness.
Faith
My Anxious Heart
My parents spoke German at home when they did not want the children to know what was being discussed which was often the children themselves It is a method parents use with varying success depending upon how well they have passed on the mother tongue I was not very old when I heard my parents…
A Mercy-Filled Lent
A more deliberate approach to sacrifice during this Lenten season
Of Other Things
Queer as Folk
Anyone who has read about Bob Dylan’s early career knows that he shares a common trait with the eponymous hero of “Inside Llewyn Davis.” Both of them could be, well, jerks.
Signs Of the Times
Scathing UN Report Overreaches But Puts Holy See on the Defensive
Bureaucratic overreach, a fundamental misunderstanding of the interplay of canon law with secular authority, a headline-grabbing “food fight”: these are just some of the criticisms of a recent broadside from a United Nations committee reviewing the Vatican’s global record on the pr
U.S. Abortion Rate Down
Almost two weeks after the national March for Life rally in Washington, D.C., the Guttmacher Institute reported a 13 percent drop in national abortion rates between 2008 and 2011, making for the lowest rate since 1973, when abortion on demand was legalized in the United States. “No evidence wa
Pope Francis Challenges New Leaders
Construction for 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics in Brazil sparks protests.
News Briefs
An emotional Cardinal Luis Tagle of Manila, Philippines, welcomed U.S. Catholic leaders on Feb. 3 to review recovery efforts after Typhoon Haiyan, saying that the work to rebuild devastated communities can show the world a church united in the service of people in need. • A statement released b
The Survey Says…
Reports from bishops’ conferences in Germany and Switzerland show a clear divergence between what the church teaches on marriage, sexuality and family life and what Catholics—even those active in parish life—personally believe. The differences are seen “above all when it come
Politics
Faith
Culture
Vatican
Scripture
Podcasts