Of Many Things
We need to recover the sense of fun in politics
Sixty years ago this October, a 13-car train pulled out of Union Station in Washington, D.C., headed south. It was the L.B.J. Special, named for its most important passenger, Lyndon B. Johnson, who was that year’s Democratic nominee for vice president of the United States.
Your Take
What are the most important issues of the presidential race? Readers respond.
Readers of the daily email newsletter rank the issues important to them in the upcoming election.
Editorials
America magazine: Donald Trump is a unique threat to the Constitution
President Trump has undermined the constitutional order to a degree unprecedented in modern U.S. history, which prompts the editors of this review to register this unprecedented warning.
Short Take
Cities get our attention, but rural America has many of the same challenges
As rural America becomes more diverse, it faces many of the problems associated with big cities, writes Nathan Beacom. The urban-rural divide in our politics does not reflect reality.
Dispatches
Catholics poised to decide whether Trump gets a second term
Even small shifts in the Catholic vote, which covers a lot of ground both geographically and ideologically, could make the difference in the presidential election, writes Robert David Sullivan.
In Canada a religious community dedicated to social justice faces its last days
Scarboro missionaries in Canada are known for living the Gospel and contributing powerfully to social justice efforts in some of the most impoverished regions of the world.
Catholic ‘Shark Tank’ invests in innovation to meet the needs of the modern church
At the first-ever OSV Innovation Challenge’s virtual Demo Day, three Catholic enterprises walked away with $100,000. Here’s how they plan to support the mission of the church.
How Covid-19 made sex trafficking in Latin America much worse
The trafficking of women in Latin America has increased with the Covid-19 pandemic, according to church activists.
Features
Catholic homeschool curricula has whitewashed world history. Is it too late to fix it?
Catholic homeschooling resources have historically offered a whitewashed, triumphalist account of history.
Religious orders have saved the church before—and they can do it today
It is some comfort to recall that Catholics have already survived many difficult periods like our own.
Faith and Reason
I helped write the bishops’ first document on Catholics and voting. Here’s why I’m voting Biden, not Trump.
John Carr explains how, applying the principles of “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship,” he decided to vote for Biden and against Trump in the 2020 election.
Faith in Focus
Emmett Till’s faithful mother is the saint we need in the fight for racial justice
Mamie Till Mobley understood something our sanitized pictures of Jesus hide: that the suffering of Jesus continued in the death of her son and is ongoing in the death of George Floyd.
Pope Francis’ critics are dividing the church and families—including mine.
Every conversation my mother and I had about religion drifted into an argument about Pope Francis. Being unable to talk about God with the person who gave me my faith as she lay dying was agonizing.
Ideas
What the story of Galileo gets wrong about the church and science
The Galileo story is presented as a narrative of the church denying science. But that implies that science is a single, monolithic worldview.
Part history, part science fiction, the Galileo story is less a legend than a myth.
Books
Review: Gentrifying tragedy on intellectual whim
Terry Eagleton’s new book on tragedy can be a difficult read.
Review: What would Jesus say about white privilege?
Khyati Y. Joshi’s new book shines “a light on Christian privilege and its entwinement with White privilege.”
Review: The intersection of ecology and theology
Thomas Berry’s legacy for a rising generation of eco-theologians and ethicists is pervasive.
Review: Exploring sanity, sexuality and motherhood in mid-20th century Hollywood
Religion and spirituality are at the center of Anne Enright’s exceptional new novel.
Review: A Bronx tale
John D. Feerick’s memoir engages important chapters in American urban, intellectual and legal history.
Poetry
The Parable of the Young Man and the Old
And Isaac, feeling wise, rebuked his father for the sacrifice
Daughter Hymn
& you know how hard I’ve tried to not disappoint you
The Word
Proclaim God’s justice, even when rejected.
During a time of much disagreement and uncertainty, today’s readings offer a few reminders.
Are you ready for God’s feast?
The parable of the wedding banquet provides insights into how to enter and remain in the kingdom of heaven.
Jesus brings what’s important into focus
Jesus provokes his listeners to focus on important matters rather than seeking to justify themselves.
The Gospel reminds us to care for and love the least among us
Jesus draws on his Jewish heritage to affirm tradition and shine a light on what is most important: love.
Last Take
What will it take for police reform to work? The church’s abuse scandal offers some lessons.
Strong laws and codes of conduct for law enforcement officers already exist, but mechanisms for oversight and accountability are needed, writes Kathleen McChesney.
Faith
Proclaim God’s justice, even when rejected.
During a time of much disagreement and uncertainty, today’s readings offer a few reminders.
We need to recover the sense of fun in politics
Sixty years ago this October, a 13-car train pulled out of Union Station in Washington, D.C., headed south. It was the L.B.J. Special, named for its most important passenger, Lyndon B. Johnson, who was that year’s Democratic nominee for vice president of the United States.
Are you ready for God’s feast?
The parable of the wedding banquet provides insights into how to enter and remain in the kingdom of heaven.
Jesus brings what’s important into focus
Jesus provokes his listeners to focus on important matters rather than seeking to justify themselves.
The Gospel reminds us to care for and love the least among us
Jesus draws on his Jewish heritage to affirm tradition and shine a light on what is most important: love.
Religious orders have saved the church before—and they can do it today
It is some comfort to recall that Catholics have already survived many difficult periods like our own.
In Canada a religious community dedicated to social justice faces its last days
Scarboro missionaries in Canada are known for living the Gospel and contributing powerfully to social justice efforts in some of the most impoverished regions of the world.
Catholic ‘Shark Tank’ invests in innovation to meet the needs of the modern church
At the first-ever OSV Innovation Challenge’s virtual Demo Day, three Catholic enterprises walked away with $100,000. Here’s how they plan to support the mission of the church.
Emmett Till’s faithful mother is the saint we need in the fight for racial justice
Mamie Till Mobley understood something our sanitized pictures of Jesus hide: that the suffering of Jesus continued in the death of her son and is ongoing in the death of George Floyd.
Pope Francis’ critics are dividing the church and families—including mine.
Every conversation my mother and I had about religion drifted into an argument about Pope Francis. Being unable to talk about God with the person who gave me my faith as she lay dying was agonizing.
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