Pope Francis provides model for bishops
At the opening of the 68th General Assembly of the Italian Episcopal Conference on May 18, Pope Francis asked bishops not to be “pilots” but rather true pastors. Many times, the pontiff has called for “pastoral bishops, not princes,” using images he had previously employed wh
How Pope Francis focuses world attention on migrants
A hallmark of Pope Francis’ papacy has been his ability to focus the attention of the church and the world on human beings who live on the margins of society. In no area has he accomplished this more profoundly and effectively than in defending the rights of persons on the move—immigrant
Flannery O’Connor’s struggle with faith illuminated in “A Prayer Journal”
In a letter to Louise Abbott in 1959, Flannery O’Connor sympathizes with what her correspondent must have been describing as a struggle of faith: “All I would like you to know is that I sympathize and I suffer this way myself.” We may never have known the details or the extent to w
Of Many Things
Of Many Things
How we understand ourselves as a church guides how we should be in the world.
Letters
Reply All
Nothing NewI found “The Gospel According to the ‘Nones,’” by Elizabeth Drescher (6/8), rather disappointing. The author drew broad generalizations about the alleged “Good Samaritan” spirituality of nones as opposed to the more restrictive “Golden Rule”
Editorials
“Laudato Si'” offers bold challenge that will take time to measure
It will take years to take the full measure of “Laudato Si’,” Pope Francis’ new encyclical on the environment, and assess its impact. Pope Leo XIII wrote about the rights of workers in “Rerum Novarum” (1891) in response to the Industrial Revolution, but unions sti
Books
Pastor From Another Planet
“The Book of Strange New Things: A Novel,” by Michel Faber
The Costs of Closings
“Lost Classroom, Lost Community,” by Margaret F. Brinig and Nicole Stelle Garnett
The Oldest Tradition
“No Man’s Land,” by Elizabeth D. Samet and “Loving our Enemies,” by Jim Forest
Art
In Living Color : Timothy J. Clark’s poetic realism
Timothy J. Clark’s poetic realism
Music
False Beauty? The tension between ethics and aesthetics in Wagner
I first listened to the operas of Richard Wagner when I was 11 or 12 years old. I have come to realize that spinning Wagner recordings was more an impish attempt at bravado than evidence of any great love for opera. When I found thick albums of Wagner at the local library and impulsively brought…
The Word
Where Do You Live?
Jesus sends apostell his messengers apostoloi out into the world to share his message and his ministry but the sending of the apostles is not so much about traveling vast distances as it is about being present for the people around them Wherever you live that is the place evangelization occ
Shepherd Us
Sexual abuse has scattered the flock. Those responsible must not be allowed to guard the sheep.
Current Comment
Current Comment
In a rare display of bipartisanship, the U.S. Senate approves federal torture ban.
Generation Faith
Fortified Faith: Defending my beliefs with more than just words
Defending my beliefs with more than just words
Of Other Things
‘Love and Mercy’ tells genius and tragedy of Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson
‘Love and Mercy’ artfully reflects the genius, madness and tragedy of Brian Wilson.
Signs Of the Times
News Briefs
The U.S. Senate on June 16 approved a measure supported by Catholic and evangelical leaders that would prohibit the use of torture by any U.S. government agency as an interrogation technique. • The Philippine government on June 16 started the Catholic Church-backed process of decommissioning me
Holy Land Arson
The Council of Religious Institutions of the Holy Land issued a strong condemnation against an early morning arson attack on the Benedictine Church of the Multiplication at Tabgha on the Sea of Galilee on June 18. The council, which is made up of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel, the Heads of the Local
Watch Your Waste
‘The hungry nations of the world cry out to the peoples blessed with abundance.’
Losing Their Religion
Americans have less confidence in organized religion today than ever measured before—a sign that the church could be “losing its footing as a pillar of moral leadership in the nation’s culture,” a new Gallup survey finds. In the mid-1970s, nearly seven in 10 Americans said th
Mourning Charleston’s Victims
Expressions of regret and horror, prayer services and moments of silence across the country followed in the aftermath of a shooting in a historic church in Charleston, S.C. The rampage on June 17 claimed the lives of nine people. Once again the nation faced the grim, inexplicable spectacle of a mass
Encyclical From Pope Francis Welcomed as Global Call to Arms
Addressing “every person on the planet” in a groundbreaking encyclical, “Laudato Si’,” Pope Francis speaks frankly and passionately about the “global environmental deterioration” of “our common home,” appealing “for a new dialogue about how
Two Bishops of the Twin Cities Resign
Pope Francis accepted the resignations on June 15 of Archbishop John C. Nienstedt and Auxiliary Bishop Lee A. Piche of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. In a statement, Archbishop Nienstedt said he hopes his resignation might “give the archdiocese a new beginning amidst the many cha
Vatican Dispatch
Offering Up Easter
The greatest obstacle to Christian unity is ‘the spirit of possessiveness.’
Washington Front
Washington (Finally) Talks about Poverty
For just a few days, Washington’s obsession with the “middle class” was broken.
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