‘We the People’: How the Constitution calls us to a common purpose
“We the people” reminds Americans that we are connected to one another in our shared commitment to a fundamental purpose: to promote the general welfare.
Works both familiar and surprising: America’s Fall poetry roundup
In this roundup of poetry from the past year, ‘America’ editors and staff explore worlds of verse and fragments of reality that enchant and unsettle.
Review: Liberation and Palestine
‘The Cross and the Olive Tree: Cultivating Palestinian Theology Amid Gaza,’ edited by the Palestinian theologians (and brothers) John and Samuel Munayer, can teach us much about a faith-based, justice response to the situation in the Middle East today.
Review: War and (uneasy) peace
Helen Benedict’s latest novel, ‘The Soldier’s House,’ focuses on the Iraq war, the turmoil it caused in the lives of one Iraqi family, and the American soldier who tries to help them.
Review: The American antichrists of our age
in ‘Defying Tyrants,’ Matthew Taylor argues that modern-day Christians concerned about the rise of Christian supremacist movements may benefit from recovering the early church’s understanding of the concept.
What a tourist owes the poor: A theology of Christian mercy
Christ teaches his disciples that it is not our place to judge those asking for help if we are able to give.
I tried to shield my daughter from grief. Instead, I learned to grieve with her.
I was used to pushing down my grief. I didn’t want my daughter to do the same.
How ‘deep canvassing’ can help Catholics change minds on immigration
Studies show that the more religious you are, the more likely you are to hold negative views toward migration. This is a challenge to the Catholic Church—but also an opportunity to use church teaching to change hearts and minds.
Vatican II shows us what is beautiful about the church
Vatican II invited the church to rediscover how the Gospel becomes beautiful when embodied in the life of the Christian community.
The editors: Make it safe to lose elections
Today’s political rhetoric depicts electoral defeat as apocalyptic. If this leads to a rejection of the rule of law, it places the constitutional order itself at great risk.
So, should priests wear cassocks?
Our readers weigh in: “Does a priest have to wear this ancient garment? Of course not…. But maybe we should re-evaluate. There’s life in those old clothes.”
How to worry about A.I. without despairing
You’re probably worried about A.I. for the wrong reasons—or at least not all of the reasons.
Review: Rowan Williams on bringing back solidarity
In ‘Solidarity,’ Rowan Williams offers one imperative that reverberates through his book: If we are to recover a sustainable spirit of solidarity, we must work, both interpersonally and politically, to go beyond too-easy, sometimes performative declarations like “I feel for you and stand with you.”
A ‘Pope Leo effect’ might be driving Latino vocations to the priesthood
It may be too early to tell, but Father Corral believes the election of Pope Leo XIV has led more young men to at the very least consider the priesthood. That includes Latinos.
‘SNL’ and the radical humility of live comedy
‘Saturday Night Live’ is its most human when performers break.
Interview: Bishop Olson on the ‘racist and sinful rhetoric’ of a Texas politician
Bishop Olson responded to Bo French: “This is racist and sinful rhetoric that seeks to harm and to divide. It is disturbing that it comes from a candidate for public office. An apology is called for.”
AFL-CIO president: The significance of ‘Magnifica Humanitas’ is ‘absolutely huge’
“When I first read it, I just felt like this could have been a document written by the trade union movement.”
How a Catholic advocacy group is preparing poll workers for the 2026 midterm elections
A Catholic social justice group is recruiting people across the country to work at the polls in the upcoming November elections.
The medieval understanding of intelligence is exactly what we need in the age of A.I.
Exercising restraint in the use of A.I. will require a paradigm shift in how human intelligence is essentially conceived.
Poetry
For Martha, Last Passenger Pigeon, 1914
Where in the spirit world/ have you taken up lodging
The World Gives My Mother Back to Me
she’d pull this red dress from the rack/ (where I will leave it), and bear it home/ to me because I wear too much black.
Faith
In a world where the glamour of evil rules, Catholics must create beauty
If you want justice, work for beauty.
How the St. Francis Breadline provides food to NYC’s homeless—without judgment
Since 1930, the St. Francis Breadline has stayed open through blackouts, blizzards and rainstorms, serving without judgment everyone who comes.
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