Marked for Christ: The sacred symbolism of religious tattoos
Gabe Wells wears glasses and a button-down shirt, is built like a tank and has several large, Catholic-themed tattoos. He got his first when he was doing a year of service after high school. It is an angel surrounded by ivy on his upper arm, a reproduction of a 15th-century illuminated manuscript. T
Facing Up to Torture: Uncovering a shameful, secret history
The public remains largely unaware of the full story of the nation’s interrogation practices.
Of Many Things
Of Many Things
Thanks be to God, this has been an autumn of firsts for America. In September we published a groundbreaking interview with Pope Francis; in October, our 56-page special issue on women in the life of the church marked the first time that we published an issue written entirely by women—except fo
Letters
Reply All
Refreshing Appeal“A Church for the Poor,” by Bishop Robert W. McElroy (10/21), is an appropriate and timely complement to Pope Francis’ long interview published in America on Sept. 30. Among the many topics the pope addressed, perhaps the one given considerable attention was his ob
Editorials
Too Big to Prosecute?
The wheels of justice grind slowly indeed—perhaps slowest when they detour onto Wall Street.
Books
A System in Shambles
In November 2004 the first U S military commission hearings in more than 60 years reconvened in Guant namo Bay Cuba Khalid Shaikh Mohammed the alleged mastermind of the Sept 11 attacks was in U S custody but he did not sit in the defendant rsquo s chair High-value detainees like Mr Mohamm
La Dolce Vita
Wallis Wilde-Menozzi rsquo s beautiful meditation on Italy takes the reader on a journey of discovery that transpired over three decades of a life richly lived The work is at once a memoir travelogue history lesson and cultural excavation The author rsquo s memories of life in Rome where her jo
A Thousand Tragedies
Khaled Hosseini is a bestselling author whose novels focus on Afghanistan rsquo s political religious social and cultural upheaval If his aim is to evoke sympathy for the tortured lives of Afghans he undoubtedly succeeds In his highly successful debut novel The Kite-Runner 2004 Hosseini focu
Character Study
The night before this review was being tortured into near-coherence a musical group called the Postal Service appeared on ldquo The Colbert Report rdquo promoting its new release ldquo Give Up rdquo mdash which was actually recorded 10 years earlier and was being re-released The history of
Unnatural Disasters
ldquo Change will come when the people are engaged right at the heart of things rdquo said Josette P rard a grass-roots activist in Haiti She spoke as that country struggled to rebuild after the disastrous earthquake of Jan 12 2010 that killed over 200 000 Haitians and destroyed the homes o
Television
Prisoners of War: Showtime’s ‘Homeland’
Showtime’s ‘Homeland’ asks, when the world turns to tempest, who is crazy and who is sane?
The Word
Life in the Balance
There is an inherent tension in Christianity between the indicative and the imperative what we are and what we are intended to be between the present and the future the life we are now living and the world to come If we focus only on this world or only on the world to come the…
Columns
An Autumn Triptych
Interpreting texts of Pope Francis has become a 24/7 worldwide industry.
The Passing Game
New basketball players often struggle with passing the ball to a moving teammate.
Current Comment
Current Comment
Sharing the Burden, A Civil Politician and Argentina’s Future
Faith
A Call for Spiritual Leaders: The Jesuit superior general on higher education
Editor’s Note: Very Rev. Adolfo Nicolás, S.J., superior general of the Society of Jesus, met in Chicago on Oct. 12 with the board chairs and presidents of the 28 Jesuit colleges and universities in the United States. Also present at this unprecedented meeting were the superiors of the nine re
The Gift Of the Word: The achievements and challenges of Vatican II on Scripture
Richard Clifford, S.J., on the achievements and challenges of Vatican II on Scripture
Signs Of the Times
News Briefs
The University of Notre Dame’s Alliance for Catholic Education on Oct. 5 launched a bus tour called Fighting for Our Children’s Future, a cross-country effort to raise awareness of the impact of primary school education and the unique contribution of Catholic schools. • Responding t
Sowing Ethics
Cardinal Peter Turkson of Ghana, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, came to Des Moines, Iowa, to receive the World Food Prize on Oct. 16. The cardinal urged groups on both sides of the divide on bio-engineered and genetically modified food to engage in conversation and dialog
U.S. Drone Campaign Criticized By U.N. and Human Rights Groups
Human Rights Watch flatly denounced the drone campaign in Yemen.
A Growing Hispanic Presence in U.S. Church
“This growth is a blessing, but also it comes with a lot of challenges,” says Gustavo Valdez.
Vatican: No Change for Divorced, Remarried Catholics
The Vatican reaffirmed teaching barring such persons from Communion without an annulment.
Cheap Fast Food?
According to a study released on Oct. 22 by the University of California’s Berkeley Labor Center and the University of Illinois, more than half the nation’s fast food workers rely on public aid because their wages are not sufficient to support them. Fifty-two percent of families of fast
The Living Word
The Gift Of the Word: The achievements and challenges of Vatican II on Scripture
Richard Clifford, S.J., on the achievements and challenges of Vatican II on Scripture
Politics
Faith
Culture
Vatican
Scripture
Podcasts