Traffic, an Academy Awards nominee film directed by Steven Soderbergh, is a rapid-fire saga of the drug trade and of stumbling binational efforts to stop it. It is also a dark-hued morality play. The drug trading and the violence in Traffic take place on both sides of the border crossing between Tij

Egan to Be a Leader at Synod of BishopsPope John Paul II appointed Cardinal Edward Egan of New York to be one of the principal leaders at the Synod of Bishops in October (see page 15 of this issue). As the synod’s general rapporteur, or recording secretary, he will have the very influential ro

My mother was an immigrant, and ever since coming to New York a few years ago, I have wanted to visit Ellis Island. Now I have been there twice within the past year—last June and then on a bitterly cold day during Christmas week. My mother was luckier than most immigrants. Having grown up in t

The New Yorker cover for the new millennium’s first week of March was a perfect cartoon rendition of our culture’s inverted values. A theater marquee, hyping some nameless show, is plastered with rave banner reviews of nameless critics. A New Low! Gratuitously Prurient! Lurid! Rock Botto

President Bush recently unveiled his promised White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. For Catholic Charities USA members across the nation, the ensuing debate has been stimulating, frustrating and important. It invites us to share with the president our own hopes and concerns. I

In an earthquake one feels very small. During the earthquakes in El Salvador on Jan. 13 and Feb. 13, the street heaved underfoot; buildings and light posts rocked; telephone cables swung like jump-ropes. The first quake, 7.6 on the Richter scale, had its epicenter off the coast, while the second, 6.

Future development of the teachings of the Second Vatican Council on collegiality, liturgy, ecumenism and lay participation in church and society may depend heavily on how diocesan bishops face up to the prelates in Vatican offices before and during next October’s Synod of Bishops in Rome.The

These are two very different books on a similar topic Rychlak rsquo s is the lawyer rsquo s brief Phayer rsquo s the scholarly monograph Both approach Pope Pius XII from the standpoint of Vatican diplomacy Rychlak concludes that the criticism of Pius XII for not speaking out against Hitler and t

Youth Ministers, Chaplains Offer Comfort to Shooting VictimsIn an outpouring of faith in the midst of tragedy, Catholic youth ministers, priests, chaplains, parents and teens ministered to one another following the shooting on March 5 of 15 people at Santana High School in Santee, Calif. Five youth

Every Christmas, through the miracle to which we bear witness, we are reminded of life’s infinite possibilities. In this context, we enter each new year with a sense of renewed hope and opportunity. We see afresh the potential for achieving good and righting wrongs in our lives, in our communi