Love of the Person: John F. Kavanaugh’s liberation philosophy
John F. Kavanaugh, S.J.—teacher, scholar, journalist and priest—died one year ago this month. For years his essays in America shed light on films, Scripture and the ethical and political debates of the day. I first learned philosophy from John at St. Louis University and followed him to
Can This City Be Saved?: Reconstructing Detroit after bankruptcy
It is Aug. 6, the feast of the Transfiguration, and Albert Aaron stands on a corner on the East Side of Detroit, political flyers in hand, ready to chat up anyone willing to hear why his candidate should be the city’s next mayor. Three weeks earlier Detroit made national headlines with the lar
Are We Winning?: Coming to terms with the fog of war
Eleven years is a long time to devote to answering a question. But that is how long I have been thinking about this one: “Are we winning?” In 2002 I returned from my first tour in Afghanistan. The United States was still reeling from the savage blow of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11,
Why Mystery Matters: Martha, Mary and the gap between economics and theology
Martha, Mary and the gap between economics and theology: a response to ‘Just Economics’
Of Many Things
Of Many Things
I am a “stranger in a strange land,” a Bosox fan living in New York countless Yankee fans.
Letters
Reply All
An ImprovementYes, yes to Jack Selzer (“Hail, Holy Grammar,” Reply All, 10/7), and yes again. The problem for me in the Hail Mary is that the words after “fruit of” sound like one name: “Thywombjesus.” Or maybe “Thywomb” is the first name. It is a bit
Editorials
Our Sacred Dead
Killing civilians is not only immoral but also strategically counterproductive.
Faith in Focus
I’ve Got Mail: On the art of letter writing
The U.S. Postal Service announced in February that it would discontinue Saturday deliveries. When members of Congress strongly protested, the post office suspended its plans, but the reprieve may be short-lived. Polls show that most Americans approve of cutting Saturday delivery.My fellow citizens s
Books
Academia Nuts
A college president who is not already a wee bit nuts might easily become so when exposed to the competitive dysfunctionality and rampant absurdity that pass for normal behavior in the academy But while curious characters abound no university leader is quite so unhinged as M R Neukirchen the im
Getting Beyond Doubt
Demonstrations of God rsquo s existence have long been a staple in philosophy courses taught at Catholic colleges and universities The heritage is venerable stretching back from the present day to the ancient Greeks In his eminently readable God in Proof Nathan Schneider presents this history of
A Political Club Soda
In The City of God St Augustine describes how the destruction of Carthage led to Rome rsquo s demise The cloud placed over Rome by its fierce rival kept its morality in check When Rome destroyed Carthage ldquo a crowd of disastrous evils forthwith resulted from the prosperous condition of thin
Film
Porn and Penance: Joseph Gordon Levitt channels Augustine in ‘Don Jon’
Joseph Gordon Levitt’s ‘Don Jon’ is an Augustinian journey through cinematic excess.
Poetry
Oh Tigris, Oh Euphrates
Oh Tigris, Oh Euphrates watching Greek armies,Roman archers, legionnaires armed to the teeth, Britishforces, American military, empire-building further, furthereast and south across your deserts, hills, ravines, cities,villages, their shape-shifting alliances, offensives, counter-insurgencies, crush
The Word
The Living God
As we ponder Jesus rsquo confrontation with the Sadducees regarding life in the world to come we are compelled to ask ldquo Do I believe in resurrection rdquo How one answers this question orients how we live today It is a question that is not so much answered intellectually though it is not
Columns
Up Close and Suffering
Why can’t war photography teach us that the spread of this cruelty will corrupt us all?
Found in Translation
It is naïve to imagine that any conversation possesses a single explicit meaning.
Current Comment
Current Comment
The editors on European populism, ‘Anonymous’ justice and Maickel Melamed’s marathon spirit.
Signs Of the Times
Suddenly Stateless In Dominican Republic
On Sept. 23 the Dominican Republic’s Constitutional Court issued a decision effectively denationalizing an estimated 250,000 people residing in that country. The ruling retroactively denies Dominican nationality to anyone born after 1929 who did not have at least one parent of Dominican blood.
Syria: Christians Can Be a Witness For Peace as Conflict Continues
Jesuit Refugee Service is serving thousands of internally displaced Syrians.
Christian Persecution Increases Globally
The persecution of Christians around the world has intensified over the last two-and-a-half years, according to a review of religious freedom in 30 countries by the United Kingdom branch of the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need. Christians also are persecuted by religious nationalists in so
New Estimate: 30 Million ‘Modern Slaves’ Exploited Worldwide
The country with the largest number of people in modern slavery is India.
News Briefs
Caroleen Hensgen, S.S.N.D., the first woman appointed superintendent of schools for a U.S. diocese, died on Oct. 15 in Chatawa, Miss., at the age of 98.• On World Food Day, Oct. 16, Pope Francis denounced widespread hunger due to wasted food as a symptom of a “throwaway culture” and
‘Nones’ on the Rise Among Hispanics
Perhaps the fastest growing “religious” demographic among Hispanics is the unaffiliated.
Politics
Faith
Culture
Vatican
Scripture
Podcasts