Of Many Things
America magazine takes on ‘Jeopardy!’
Given that many of you are likely reading this on the beach, or in transit to your summer destination, I thought I’d offer you some lighter fare here.
Your Take
Who should take the lead in protecting the environment? America readers gave us a definitive answer.
Regardless of who readers thought should take the lead, a striking majority called for collaboration in battling climate change.
The Letters
We need to get back to honest debate and decent, well-thought criticism of both President Trump and the opposition party.
Editorials
Donald Trump should be making more decisions in the military
No amount of flexibility on the ground can replace an achievable strategy.
The Editors: Trumpcare bill is closing the door to democracy
Just about everyone is sick of the partisan rancor that radiates from Washington.
Short Take
Deportation to deadly countries is an evil we can avoid
Can a Catholic carry out his or her job duties in good conscience if they include the deportation of people facing imminent death in their home countries?
Dispatches
Summertime blues? A season that’s hard on the earth
Most Americans say they have changed their behavior to help protect the environment—whether because they are heeding the warnings of Pope Francis in his encyclical “Laudato Si’” or are alarmed by stories of severe weather and rising sea levels. But summer may bring the biggest test of good intentions. A warming planet means more demand…
Gasoline theft becomes major criminal enterprise in Mexico
Thieves are puncturing fuel pipelines in Mexico and siphoning profits from the national oil company.
As sea waters rise, Miami begins elevated development
Rising seas due to global warming have rendered the coastal high-water marks more obsolete by the day. That is especially true in the Miami area, which every media report on sea-level rise seems to profile as ground zero for deluge doom.
Updates from the U.S. bishops’ meeting: Repealing Obamacare will hurt the poor
Live updates from Indianapolis as the bishops gather for their annual spring meeting.
Canadian bishops urge response to Africa/Yemen hunger and violence
United Nations sources report that as many as 30 million are threatened by hunger in South Sudan, Somalia, Nigeria and Yemen—and 20 million “are at immediate risk.”
Features
Prayer, puppets and pleas for peace in Gaza
After countless wars, the Palestinian citizens of a tiny strip of land surrounded by Israel find a way to persevere.
A synod, not a solution: San Diego’s grassroots effort to respond to Amoris Laetitia
The laypeople were the experts—the ones who live the challenges of family life every day—at the San Diego synod responding to Pope Francis’ “Amoris Laetitia.”
Faith in Focus
The Queens of Chavara: Carmelite sisters at ground zero of India’s AIDS epidemic
“Yes, some are H.I.V.-positive, but what is that?” asks Sister Agie. “They are precious children; they have their whole life before them.”
Ideas
Patricia Lockwood was the daughter of a priest—and everyone knew it.
‘I saw the Catholic Church from the inside, like a tauntaun.’
Brian Doyle once wrote, ‘stories are prayers.’ He has left us with many.
For much longer than a moment, let us consider the revered Catholic writer’s literary generosity.
Books
‘A great and mysterious force’
Daniel J. Morrissey reviews “Sex and the Constitution” by Geoffrey R. Stone.
The Practice of Penance
Peter C. Phan reviews “Sin in the Sixties: Catholics and Confessions 1955-1975” by Maria C. Morrow.
Those familiar strangers
Jennifer Levasseur reviews “Between Them: Remembering My Parents” by Richard Ford.
The uncertain future of parish life
T. Howland Sanks, S.J. reviews “Great Catholic Parishes,” “Catholic Parishes of the 21st Century,” “Parish Leadership,” and “Seminary Formation.”
Theater
In ‘Oslo’ peace is a process, not a destination
Like all the best historical narratives, “Oslo” shows the intense fragility and contingency of human affairs
Poetry
Praise
The boy named Wolf bursts from the kiva / into a blaze of sun; men’s ankle shells rattle.
The Word
Let Them Grow Together
Jesus knew the same risks we would face, and still taught us to “grow together.”
How Can You Not See It?
Matthew’s community struggled to understand why so few believed in Jesus. How was it possible, they wondered, that friends and loved ones heard the same message but did not grasp its implications?
Last Take
Love on the Margins: What Catholic interfaith couples share with the divorced and remarried
Their invalid marriages put these Catholics on the margins of the church.
Faith
Let Them Grow Together
Jesus knew the same risks we would face, and still taught us to “grow together.”
How Can You Not See It?
Matthew’s community struggled to understand why so few believed in Jesus. How was it possible, they wondered, that friends and loved ones heard the same message but did not grasp its implications?
A synod, not a solution: San Diego’s grassroots effort to respond to Amoris Laetitia
The laypeople were the experts—the ones who live the challenges of family life every day—at the San Diego synod responding to Pope Francis’ “Amoris Laetitia.”
Love on the Margins: What Catholic interfaith couples share with the divorced and remarried
Their invalid marriages put these Catholics on the margins of the church.
Updates from the U.S. bishops’ meeting: Repealing Obamacare will hurt the poor
Live updates from Indianapolis as the bishops gather for their annual spring meeting.
The Queens of Chavara: Carmelite sisters at ground zero of India’s AIDS epidemic
“Yes, some are H.I.V.-positive, but what is that?” asks Sister Agie. “They are precious children; they have their whole life before them.”
Magazine
The Letters
We need to get back to honest debate and decent, well-thought criticism of both President Trump and the opposition party.
Politics
Faith
Culture
Vatican
Scripture
Podcasts