Is Reform Possible?: Historical and theological perspectives on the Roman Curia
The first question asked of Pope Francis in the widely reported impromptu press conference on July 28 during the flight home from World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro was, not surprisingly, related to the Roman Curia: “What type of reform do you have in mind?” In his reply, the pope first m
Of Many Things
Of Many Things
Organizations as old as America rarely do anything completely unprecedented. For every “new” idea, there’s a pretty good chance that it’s been done before, in one way or another, during the course of 104 years of weekly publishing. This issue of America, however, is truly a f
Letters
Reply All
Letters Versus ArticlesRe “Of Many Things,” by Matt Malone, S.J. (8/12): It seems clear enough that publications like America must find new ways of sustaining themselves in this age of digitized information and opinion, but Father Malone’s suggestion that readers can now be &l
Editorials
The Pope’s Progress
We are thankful to Pope Francis for embracing his role as pope with a “big heart open to God.”
Books
Things Fall Together
Many retreat houses feature a labyrinth pilgrims wend their way through a circuitous though orderly route metaphorically tracing the ever ancient ever new challenge of cultivating union with a mysterious deity By contrast Peter McDonough rsquo s The Catholic Labyrinth a book that sketches a sp
A Boy Grows in Brooklyn
It is the 1941 baseball season and Joe DiMaggio is not content Fans idolize him He enjoys a record-breaking hitting streak His wife gives birth to a son Yet DiMaggio is moody and saturnine besieged by guilt that he is not the hero his fans expect him to be…
A House Divided
During his long distinguished life as historian and novelist Thomas Fleming has focused for the most part upon 18th-century America and the Revolution That sustained focus however in some surprising ways has now led to his newest book a highly recommended narrative history that is dominated b
Film
The Tall Tales We Tell: Catching up with Tim Burton’s ‘Big Fish’
An American paratrooper leaps from a plane, descends through the hazy night sky and lands, unnoticed, directly on the backstage catwalk of a large, U.S.O.-style show. Onstage an Asian ventriloquist performs an expressionless routine before a sea of unmoved military brass with a distinctly Communist
The Word
A Little Faith
lsquo The apostles said to the Lord lsquo Increase our faith rsquo rdquo What rsquo s the equation for increasing faith ldquo The Lord replied lsquo If you had faith the size of a mustard seed you could say to this mulberry tree ldquo Be uprooted and planted in the sea rdquo and it…
Columns
Trouble in Tanzania
A coworker of mine was struggling to get her students to understand the concept of tolerance during a discussion in her sophomore English class. Seeing in class a pair of best friends, one Christian and the other Muslim, she used them as an example of people who showed tolerance towards each other.
‘Who Am I to Judge?’
I’m not sure if any official guidelines exist about going to a priest for spiritual direction; but if they do, I’m fairly certain that “Remember to insult your spiritual director at the first meeting” is not among them.In my defense, it wasn’t intentional. I’d kno
Current Comment
Current Comment
Solidarity 101; A Tragi-Comic Opera; Understanding the Poor
Faith
A Big Heart Open to God: An interview with Pope Francis
“It is not a figure of speech, a literary genre. I am a sinner.”
Signs Of the Times
‘It’s a girl!’ Joyful, Dangerous Words
In the United States, hearing the words “it’s a girl,” is a cause for enormous joy and celebration for most people, said Rep. Chris Smith, Republican of New Jersey. “Today, the three most dangerous words in China and India are: It’s a girl,” Smith told a congressi
News Briefs
An international panel of cardinals charged in April with preparing recommendations for the pope on reforming the Curia will issue their report and meet with Pope Francis on Oct. 1-3. • According to reports from the Sudan Catholic Radio Network in September, the Sudanese air force continues to
Francis: Mercy of God Is Unlimited
Writing in one of Italy’s major secular newspapers, Pope Francis called for a “sincere and rigorous dialogue” between the church and nonbelievers as an “intimate and indispensable expression” of Christian love. An “open and unprejudiced dialogue” between Chr
Stockton Diocese Considers Bankruptcy
Bishop Stephen E. Blaire of Stockton, Calif., described in detail the financial situation of the diocese in two recent letters to parishioners that were read during weekend Masses. The most recent letter, read during weekend Masses on Sept. 7 and 8, announced the diocese’s plans to consider fi
U.S. Bishops Join Pope in Peace Campaign, Urge More Dialogue
U.S. and Russian negotiators hammered out a deal on the cataloging, securing and disposal of Syria’s 1,000 tons of chemical weapons on Sept. 14, side-stepping a confrontation with the regime of President Bashar al-Assad that could have ended with a U.S. missile strike. The question now is whet
Catholic Colleges Ranked at Top
Avid readers of U.S. News & World Report’s annual rankings of colleges and universities will find the names of dozens of Catholic schools on the lists. The University of Notre Dame, in South Bend, Ind., is the top-ranked national Catholic institution, placing 18th. Georgetown University, i
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