Of Many Things
What ChatGPT reveals about our history—and demands of our present
You need not worry that I will be outsourcing “Of Many Things” columns to our robot overlords in the future.
Your Take
Readers commend America magazine’s commitment to lessen polarization
Readers respond to Father Sam Sawyer’s article about how St. Ignatius’ ideas could offer a way out of current ecclesial, cultural and political polarization.
Editorials
There’s a mental crisis among teens. The Catholic Church needs to respond.
The crisis for teens is both psychological and spiritual, and it demands a response from both mental health and faith communities. How do we make our church again a place of belonging for young people who are hurting?
Short Take
Charles III, George III and the problematic American presidency
At one time, the British king and U.S. president had similar roles in their nations. But the British system evolved while the United States still has a president that is too powerful and too difficult to remove.
Dispatches
Report from Honduras: How migration hurts the families and faith communities left behind
Subsistence farmers affected by drought will have to make it to the United States to feed their families and save their farms or cattle. Their departure leaves a gaping hole in families and the community.
Report from Honduras: Catholic agencies work to fight climate change and a hunger crisis
In Honduras, persistent drought can devastate crops and unexpected rains can flood fields and produce landslides.
Interview: Jesuit journalist on the roots of insurgent violence in Africa—and how faith communities are responding
Extremist and criminal violence is on the rise across Northern Africa from Somalia to Nigeria as local security forces face off against gangs and insurgencies they are often ill-equipped to contain.
Pope Francis tells bishops of Latin America, where new sex abuse protections aren’t in place, to make it a priority
Pope Francis told the Latin American church leaders, “Anyone who lessens the impact of this history or minimizes the current danger dishonors those who have suffered so much and deceives those they claim to serve.”
After Turkey’s devastating earthquakes, can a 2,000-year-old Christian community survive?
Long before the earthquakes in February, the viability of the Christian community in Samandag had been under cultural and economic threat. Many from the city’s minority Christian community had already departed, seeking economic or educational opportunities elsewhere.
Features
In High School, in Recovery: The spiritual and practical challenges facing teens with addiction
Kolbe Academy in Bath, Pa., was the only Catholic recovery school in the United States. It is closing its doors because it could not find enough students like Pete, who said he had hit rock bottom and wanted to get sober.
What is it like to be a non-Catholic married to a Catholic?
Marriages between a Catholic and a non-Catholic may be becoming more common, but they are by no means easy, especially with regard to how to raise children.
Faith and Reason
How all Catholic teaching is connected in the ‘hierarchy of truths’
When we speak of the ‘hierarchy of truths’ in Catholic theology, we need to remember that we are teaching both the essentials—and the entirety—of the faith.
Faith in Focus
Toward Something Greater: A tribute to a family matriarch who shunned the spotlight
We ended the day of my mother’s funeral looking forward to the new life ahead of us. No better tribute could be offered to such a selfless and sacrificial woman.
Why I take my teens to Mass—even when they struggle with Catholicism
I hope their belief will deepen. And I hope that my fellow Catholics in the pews will demonstrate that the wider church wants them there too.
Books
Review: Wendell Berry on healing our divisions
In his new book, ‘The Need to Be Whole,’ Wendell Berry strives to give a glimpse of the undivided foundation that underpins all he has ever tried to think and say.
‘Dirtbag, Massachusetts’: a former Catholic’s memoir about growing up in a turbulent home—and a broken church
Isaac Fitzgerald’s collection of essays Dirtbag, Massachusetts: A Confessional isn’t a Catholic memoir. Except when it is.
Review: Do Catholic universities have a future?
The central concern of the Rev. James Heft in his new book is not only how “to preserve the continuity of the Catholic intellectual tradition, but also recognize how it might be adapted.”
Review: The Sri Lankan civil war story told through poetry, humor and murder mystery
Shehan Karunatilaka’s new novel echoes elements of several all-time classics, including ‘The Divine Comedy,’ ‘Alice in Wonderland’ and almost everything by Kurt Vonnegut, whose voice and vision can be felt throughout.
Review: The invitation to everyday holiness found in spiritual memoirs
In ‘Our Hearts Are Restless: The Art of Spiritual Memoir,’ Richard Lischer explores classics of “an intimate genre, perhaps the most intimate.”
Music
Willie Nelson’s Amazing Grace
Willie Nelson might not be the first person who comes to mind when you think of a “Christian musician.” But he has long talked about his admiration for the teachings of Jesus.
Poetry
Unfinished Masterpiece
Rewrite God’s poems until the mob in us froths at the mouth.
The Dumpster Fillers
What is it you cannot stand to live with any longer? Toss it in
Last Take
Cardinal Cupich: Critics of Pope Francis’ Latin Mass restrictions should listen to JPII
Like St. John Paul II, Pope Francis takes seriously that the restoration of the liturgy was the result of the movement of the Holy Spirit.
Faith
Readers commend America magazine’s commitment to lessen polarization
Readers respond to Father Sam Sawyer’s article about how St. Ignatius’ ideas could offer a way out of current ecclesial, cultural and political polarization.
How all Catholic teaching is connected in the ‘hierarchy of truths’
When we speak of the ‘hierarchy of truths’ in Catholic theology, we need to remember that we are teaching both the essentials—and the entirety—of the faith.
Toward Something Greater: A tribute to a family matriarch who shunned the spotlight
We ended the day of my mother’s funeral looking forward to the new life ahead of us. No better tribute could be offered to such a selfless and sacrificial woman.
Why I take my teens to Mass—even when they struggle with Catholicism
I hope their belief will deepen. And I hope that my fellow Catholics in the pews will demonstrate that the wider church wants them there too.
In High School, in Recovery: The spiritual and practical challenges facing teens with addiction
Kolbe Academy in Bath, Pa., was the only Catholic recovery school in the United States. It is closing its doors because it could not find enough students like Pete, who said he had hit rock bottom and wanted to get sober.
What is it like to be a non-Catholic married to a Catholic?
Marriages between a Catholic and a non-Catholic may be becoming more common, but they are by no means easy, especially with regard to how to raise children.
Cardinal Cupich: Critics of Pope Francis’ Latin Mass restrictions should listen to JPII
Like St. John Paul II, Pope Francis takes seriously that the restoration of the liturgy was the result of the movement of the Holy Spirit.
Politics
Faith
Culture
Vatican
Scripture
Podcasts