Of Many Things
This is Jeopardy 2020!
Welcome back to “America Jeopardy!”, our annual beach-reading homage to the popular game show and everybody’s favorite Catholic magazine.
Your Take
‘Where have I seen racism in myself?’ Readers respond
We asked our readers to reflect on times when they have seen or recognized examples of racial prejudice in their own lives.
Editorials
The pandemic and Black Lives Matter protests have shown that Americans still care about the common good. Do our civic leaders?
If the pandemic and the swell of protests have shown that Americans are still capable of heeding the call of their better angels, it has also exposed the flaws and deficiencies of our political leadership.
Short Take
How Catholic vigils for racial justice can center the black experience
Even the most well-meaning prayer vigils against racism can miss the mark because of fuzzy language and a lack of black voices, writes Flora x. Tang. But there are ways to make them more effective.
Dispatches
Covid-19 hits African-American, Hispanic and Native American communities the hardest
The coronavirus epidemic claimed more than 120,000 lives by late June, and its effects have been felt in communities across the country—but not equally.
N.Y. Archdiocese, Somos care offer Covid-19 tests in underserved communities
The Archdiocese of New York, in partnership with Somos, an immigrant doctors network, will offer covid-19 testing to underserved communities in New York City.
After weeks of protest and calls to defund the police, where do we go from here?
“The blueprint for transformation and liberation is already available,” she said. “The question that remains is: Will those in power use it?”
What the church in San Jose is doing to prepare for a post-Covid future
It is not uncommon to see a Tesla or a Lexus among the cars in line for food donations at parishes in the diocese.
Could Covid-19 force a ‘buy local’ food revolution?
The pandemic will not prove to be an existential threat, but it is likely to change what and how Americans buy and eat. They may be forced to buy food closer to where it is grown or processed.
Features
When a Catholic leaves seminary or religious life
It’s O.K. if continuing to follow God’s voice doesn’t mean you end up where you think you’re going to end up.
An open letter to my fellow white Americans
Most of us believe in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream of a country where people are “judged not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” But we do not live in such a country, not yet anyway, Matt Malone, S.J. writes.
Faith and Reason
The legacy of Father Adolfo Nicolás
Adolfo Nicolás, S.J., former superior general of the Society of Jesus, helped to recenter the role of imagination in Jesuit education and in the intellectual and spiritual formation of the whole person.
Faith in Focus
Celiac disease keeps me from the Eucharist. But communion is still possible.
I cannot eat the bread of life, but I know I will never hunger for God.
‘How long, O Lord?’ Psalm 13 is the cry of black Americans
We have been crying out this question for centuries. But we cannot cry it alone anymore.
Ideas
Reading James Baldwin can help heal the wounds of racial division
Baldwin’s words explore what hatred can do not only to society at large but to the individual who bears it.
Books
Review: An insider’s look at cop culture
His vivid firsthand experiences on the job as a police officer are recounted extensively in Adam Plantinga’s new book.
Review: When musicians go from outliers to icons
Ted Gioia’s new treatise on music and musicians covers everything from the Big Bang to gangsta rap.
Review: The theology of sin
Two recently published books from Oxford University Press address the variegated and multifaced character of sin in the New Testament.
Review: Why Americans should brush up on their Catholic history
Leslie Woodcock Tentler’s new book is both a rigorous and laudable effort to cure American Catholics of the illusion that our desires have no history.
Review: Ross Douthat on our state of stagnation
Ross Douthat explores the cultural, economic and political torpor that he thinks has emerged in the United States over the last half-century.
Poetry
SHAPESHIFTING
Most of the people I know are cone-shaped. Always protruding.
My Arms Are Empty: A Song of Lamentation for Ahmaud Arbery
Our scars pulse with the rage that cannot sound
The Word
Can scripture help us cope with despair?
We must struggle together to deliver the society we want to see.
How the parable of the weeds compels us to fight for justice
Telling people suffering victimization to wait for a future reckoning only does further harm and fails to promote God’s kingdom.
Can scripture help us determine who to vote for?
We can pray that our leaders seek wisdom and understanding, but we must also exercise our right to vote for those who have demonstrated these qualities.
Last Take
Archbishop Pérez: There is much work to be done, but the American Dream endures
The events of 2020 show that Americans still struggle to achieve social justice, writes Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez of Philadelphia in a July 4 reflection. Yet we can take note of what we have survived so far.
Faith
This is Jeopardy 2020!
Welcome back to “America Jeopardy!”, our annual beach-reading homage to the popular game show and everybody’s favorite Catholic magazine.
Archbishop Pérez: There is much work to be done, but the American Dream endures
The events of 2020 show that Americans still struggle to achieve social justice, writes Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez of Philadelphia in a July 4 reflection. Yet we can take note of what we have survived so far.
When a Catholic leaves seminary or religious life
It’s O.K. if continuing to follow God’s voice doesn’t mean you end up where you think you’re going to end up.
Can scripture help us cope with despair?
We must struggle together to deliver the society we want to see.
How the parable of the weeds compels us to fight for justice
Telling people suffering victimization to wait for a future reckoning only does further harm and fails to promote God’s kingdom.
Can scripture help us determine who to vote for?
We can pray that our leaders seek wisdom and understanding, but we must also exercise our right to vote for those who have demonstrated these qualities.
Celiac disease keeps me from the Eucharist. But communion is still possible.
I cannot eat the bread of life, but I know I will never hunger for God.
What the church in San Jose is doing to prepare for a post-Covid future
It is not uncommon to see a Tesla or a Lexus among the cars in line for food donations at parishes in the diocese.
The legacy of Father Adolfo Nicolás
Adolfo Nicolás, S.J., former superior general of the Society of Jesus, helped to recenter the role of imagination in Jesuit education and in the intellectual and spiritual formation of the whole person.
‘How long, O Lord?’ Psalm 13 is the cry of black Americans
We have been crying out this question for centuries. But we cannot cry it alone anymore.
Politics
Faith
Culture
Vatican
Scripture
Podcasts