The First Five Years: How the church can support young priests in a secular age
Every so often a rumor arises that young priests today are not faring well. It is suggested that they are dispirited and leaving the priesthood in large numbers. In 1999, this rumor was so rife that the Catholic sociologist Dean Hoge led a research project to investigate. Dr. Hoge concluded in his s
Of Many Things
Of Many Things
What has always struck me about this passage is Matthew’s immediate yes to Jesus’ invitation.
Letters
Reply All
Open the Doors“The Continuing Crisis,” by Jon Fuller, S.J., M.D. (12/2), addresses important issues and appropriately recognizes terrific work Catholics are doing to combat H.I.V./AIDS. That being said, as a young Catholic working in the H.I.V./AIDS community, I believe important questio
Editorials
Editorial: A Collegial Church
Pope Francis’ collegial spirit is demonstrated and practiced in his new exhortation.
Faith in Focus
Changed, Not Ended: A view of religious life from a young sister
Some people, focused almost exclusively on numbers, are concerned that religious life is in decline. This narrows our ability to see what God is doing.
Books
After Life
Icons of Hope John Thiel rsquo s creative effort to explore Christian belief in eternal life is clearly the work of a major theological thinker Focusing on the eschata the classical four last things mdash heaven hell death and judgment mdash Thiel rejects Kant rsquo s position on the limitatio
Call To The Wild
There is a common assumption that the more familiar a person is with a given subject the less objective he or she becomes in assessing it Earle Labor rsquo s new biography of Jack London represents a notable departure from this conventional wisdom After over 50 years of studying Jack London and t
American Exceptionalism
George R Tyler draws on his long public and private sector experience both domestic and international to fashion a wide-ranging indictment of late 20th and early 21st century American capitalism What Went Wrong is a ldquo J rsquo accuse rdquo aimed at policies favoring corporate elites but hu
Theater
State of Shakespeare: The Bard’s many incarnations
The Bard’s many incarnations
The Word
‘Baptized by You’
Why did Jesus need to be baptized It was a delicate issue for the earliest Christians as one can see in Matthew rsquo s baptism account in which ldquo John would have prevented him saying lsquo I need to be baptized by you and do you come to me rsquo rdquo One of the sensitivities…
The ‘Lamb’ of God
John the Baptist has not just one of the greatest roles in salvation history but one of the great lines in the Bible The day after John baptized Jesus ldquo he saw Jesus coming toward him and declared lsquo Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world rsquo rdquo…
Columns
A Terrible Beauty
And I say to my people’s masters, Beware/ Beware of the thing that is coming, beware of the risen people/ Who shall take what ye would not give.
Current Comment
Current Comment
Once again, Afghanistan has worn down its would-be conquerors. It is a time to leave.
Faith
Joy to the World: Responses to ‘Evangelii Gaudium’
The Dignity of the Vulnerable By Meghan J. Clarke‘The dignity of the human person and the common good rank higher than the comfort of those who refuse to renounce their privileges” (No. 218). In a simple sentence, Pope Francis summarizes the bedrock of Catholic social doctrine: human dignity
Changed, Not Ended: A view of religious life from a young sister
Some people, focused almost exclusively on numbers, are concerned that religious life is in decline. This narrows our ability to see what God is doing.
Of Other Things
Post-Clerical Catholics
It is important to remember that the sheep, ultimately, don’t exist for the sake of the shepherd.
Signs Of the Times
Saving Christians
Fighting in the Middle East creates openings for extremist and threatens tolerance of Christians.
Push to Reduce Gun Violence Continues Despite Senate Setback
Grass-roots groups have turned their efforts to state legislatures.
Catholic Leaders Defend Services For the Poor After Bipartisan Deal
The bishops and others advocated for a “circle of protection” around poverty programs.
Chaos in South Sudan
As fighting continued in Juba, the capital city of South Sudan, and spread to other Sudanese cities, Catholic, Anglican and Presbyterian leaders urged reconciliation and offered to serve as mediators in the conflict. Thousands have fled to the presumed safety of U.N. compounds after street fighting
News Briefs
On Dec. 13 a federal judge granted Catholic organizations in the Archdiocese of New York and the neighboring Diocese of Rockville Centre a permanent injunction against the federal contraceptive mandate in the health care law. • In an escalating standoff, Catholic clergymen were taken away for q
Decline in Death Penalty
In 2013 the use of the death penalty continued its steady decline by almost every measure, according to a report released in December by the Death Penalty Information Center. Executions in the United States dropped by about 10 percent from 2012, to 39 from 43, marking only the second time in the pas
Politics
Faith
Culture
Vatican
Scripture
Podcasts