Why do we need ministers of Communion? Why not just pass the eucharistic bread and wine and let people take it themselves?

The most dramatic event of the 21st century thus far has been the destruction of the twin towers at the World Trade Center for many the symbol of the capitalist Christian or post-Christian West in New York City on Sept 11 2001 This act was perpetrated by men who identified themselves as Muslim

In Bach’s oratorio The Saint John Passion, a bass aria begins: “Eilt—Hurry, hurry you suffering souls.” In an urgent whisper, the chorus responds: “Wohin—where to?” The soloist replies, “Nach Golgotha—to Calvary.” That chorus represents the

Vatican Asks Bishops to Focus on Wider IssuesTop Vatican officials are urging U.S. bishops to move beyond the sexual abuse crisis and restore their focus to the wider range of pastoral and international issues. That is the main message emerging from a series of encounters in late March between heads

No matter what one may think of Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ, one thing seems uncontested. It has caused quite a stir. Has any movie ever generated such debate, even among atheists, over the real meaning of Jesus’ life and ministry? Initially, the film was considered too much o

Two thousand years ago, three young men—a revolutionary and two thieves—were executed by the governing civil authority of the Roman province of Palestine. One of those three condemned convicts turned out to be the Son of God, much to everyone’s embarrassment. Naturally, we would al

"We are going to have a French teacher!" I grabbed Rui Yins arm excitedly and whispered as I sat down. It was her turn to wait and fight for the few precious library seats. She was sturdily built and could usually push through the crowd of students waiting for the library door to open at 7

Lynne Sharon Schwartz is an award-winning author of 14 books of fiction and non-fiction whose principal terrain is the psychological territory of domestic relationshipsthe minefields or mindfields of marriages family relations couples at the edge and partners in the act of uncoupling or just bar

Pope Says Patients Must Receive Nutrition, HydrationPatients who are in a persistent vegetative state, even for years, must be given nutrition and hydration as long as their bodies can absorb the nourishment, Pope John Paul II said. The administration of water and food, even when delivered using art

The wrenching story of Terri Schiavo is by now well known. She is 39 years old and has been in a persistent vegetative state (P.V.S.) for 13 years because of brain damage brought on by a heart attack. There has been fierce conflict among her husband, her parents, Governor Jeb Bush of Florida and man