On Nov. 17, 1953, the secretary of the Holy Office, Cardinal Giuseppe Pizzardo, sent a letter to the Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Bernard Griffin. Graham Greene’s book THE POWER AND THE GLORY, it began, published in London in 1940 and afterwards translated into several languages, has be

George Lucas’s “Star Wars” has spawned a multi-billion dollar industry, including sequels, prequels and a limitless array of paraphernalia. It’s a juggernaut that shows no sign of abating. Few ideas have captured the popular imagination quite the way it has. National missile

This book honors a 12-year-old martyr by the name of FoyFaith in Englishin the southwest of France during the last of the Roman persecutions in A D 303 Five centuries later in what is called a Furtive Translation or pious robbery her remains were carried off from Agen in the Garonne to the to

False Sense of Religious Tolerance’ Worries VaticanTaking aim at the notion that one religion is as good as another, a new Vatican document emphasized the exclusive, universal and absolute value of Jesus Christ and said the Catholic Church is necessary for salvation. While acknowledging that n

Progress in unity among Christians does not occur step by step. Communions of Christians do not stand still. They are constantly developing within themselves and forming new communions, sometimes adopting new structures and practices, at other times recovering ways that were once held in common. As

In December 1998 the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith published a remarkable document titled "Reflections on the Primacy of Peter" (hereafter "Reflections"; see Origins, 1/28/99). At the outset, "Reflections" states that popes should exercise their authority &

Though the title might lead one to dismiss this book as just another in the swarm of apocalyptic writings like those by Tim LaHaye Jerry Falwell and Grant R Jeffrey preying on public anxiety over the end of the world and predicting Armageddon and cosmic meltdown this work by a professor of polit

The fanfare with which Amtrak announced its new train, called Acela (Speed and Excellence), was somewhat diminished by delays in the start of service. Designed to ply the routes along the Northeast corridor, the $2-billion, 150-m.p.h. train system was scheduled to start late last year. Now, maybe it