Of Many Things
Why we hope for more than we can plan for
At the beginning of a new year, and a new moment in America Media’s mission, it is good to be reminded that we have been entrusted with a hope bigger than our own plans.
Your Take
How Jesuit universities can stay true to their identity
Three Jesuit university leaders reflect on Cardinal Blase J. Cupich’s piece exploring how Jesuit universities can hold true to their mission.
Editorials
The economy is the issue—but does anyone have a way to improve it?
While economic dissatisfaction is widespread, it is much harder to say what policies will “fix” the economy—because other than anxiety about continuing inflation, there is little consensus about what precisely is broken.
Short Take
‘Why do I stay?’ A young Catholic feminist on a church plagued by scandal
The ongoing sexual abuse scandal involving the Rev. Marko Rupnik is another reminder of what the church needs to do to deal with this continuing plague.
Dispatches
Medical assistance in dying can’t solve the problem of suffering. Canada’s system is a cautionary tale.
Ms. Godin-Tremblay wonders if the loneliness her grandmother felt during the Covid-19 pandemic contributed to her decision to seek assistance in dying. Almost two years later, she still struggles to mourn the loss of her grandmother.
U.S. bishops call for continued funding for global AIDS program
As the United States marks the 35th World AIDS Day on Dec. 1, domestic politics threaten the future of one of the nation’s most successful global health initiatives, which is credited with keeping millions of people alive.
Christians caught in the crossfire between Hezbollah and Israel in Lebanon
Since the most recent conflict started, Hezbollah has launched rockets into Israel, provoking counterattacks targeting Hezbollah positions that have been established in the hills around these usually quiet Christian agricultural villages along the border.
GoodNews
In South Africa, an education program changes a refugee child’s life
Three2Six offers a basic education to undocumented migrant and refugee children, many of whom are barred from South Africa’s public schools because of their residency status.
Features
How one nonprofit works to help clergy abuse survivors on a path toward healing
Survivors deserve to experience the church in a way that restores, nourishes and heals.
Want to be a better parent? Think like a mapmaker.
New models of parenting can expand our imagination about this important work.
Faith and Reason
Wars end in defeat for everyone: A reflection on Gaza
The church can be prophetic in reminding all that every human being—yes, even a Hamas militant or a Zionist settler—is created in the image and likeness of God.
Faith in Focus
The holiness of asking for help
By letting others in, we enable them to do the work of God.
Searching for the Holy Dirt: What I learned while hitchhiking to El Santuario de Chimayo
All you can do is what you can do and then the Holy Spirit has to take over.
Books
Review: Treating the spiritual life like an adventure
In ‘Seeing With the Heart,’ Kevin O’Brien, S.J., provides a reflective pause to holistically look at our lives, with all of their twists and turns of grace and challenge, and consider how we are living in relationship to ourselves, others and the divine.
Review: At court and in the convent
Bronwen McShea’s recent book La Duchesse chronicles the life of Marie de Vignerot, the niece, protégé and heiress of Cardinal Richelieu.
Review: The art of Jesuit mapmaking
Mirela Altic’s ‘Encounters in the New World’ tells the story of Jesuit cartography during the Age of Exploration—when Jesuit missionaries played a crucial role as conduits among cultures, becoming bridges that allowed knowledge to flow between Europeans and Indigenous Americans.
Review: Pairing spirituality and theology, Ignatian style
In ‘Renewing Theology,’ J. Matthew Ashley argues that when brought into dynamic relation with spirituality (and vice versa), the work of theology is deeply relevant to our lives and is vital at every level of following Christ. It becomes part and parcel of a “way of life”—the life of faith.
Review: St. Katharine Drexel’s complicated record on race
In ‘Katherine Drexel and the Sisters Who Shared Her Vision,’ the historian Margaret McGuinness has performed another valuable service to American Catholic history.
Television
The hidden costs of ‘peak TV’
Television as a popular medium died 25 years ago. It’s time to mourn.
Last Take
How to prepare for next year’s elections? Here are 3 tips to keep you spiritually sane.
Many of us go back and forth between ignoring politics and getting angry about it. You will feel better, and be a better citizen, if you are more disciplined about your attention.
Faith
The holiness of asking for help
By letting others in, we enable them to do the work of God.
Searching for the Holy Dirt: What I learned while hitchhiking to El Santuario de Chimayo
All you can do is what you can do and then the Holy Spirit has to take over.
How one nonprofit works to help clergy abuse survivors on a path toward healing
Survivors deserve to experience the church in a way that restores, nourishes and heals.
Want to be a better parent? Think like a mapmaker.
New models of parenting can expand our imagination about this important work.
How Jesuit universities can stay true to their identity
Three Jesuit university leaders reflect on Cardinal Blase J. Cupich’s piece exploring how Jesuit universities can hold true to their mission.
Why we hope for more than we can plan for
At the beginning of a new year, and a new moment in America Media’s mission, it is good to be reminded that we have been entrusted with a hope bigger than our own plans.
Wars end in defeat for everyone: A reflection on Gaza
The church can be prophetic in reminding all that every human being—yes, even a Hamas militant or a Zionist settler—is created in the image and likeness of God.
‘Why do I stay?’ A young Catholic feminist on a church plagued by scandal
The ongoing sexual abuse scandal involving the Rev. Marko Rupnik is another reminder of what the church needs to do to deal with this continuing plague.
Politics
Faith
Culture
Vatican
Scripture
Podcasts