The founding fathers took international law very seriously. In the U.S. Constitution, treaties, along with federal laws, are declared to be “the supreme Law of the Land.” In addition, the Judiciary Act of 1789 provided that foreigners could bring suit in U.S. district courts for torts co

A person’s first or last words are often the stuff of legend, and because their art makes speech memorable, poets seem especially sensitive to overtures and finales. Dante’s Divine Comedy, for instance, leaves us looking at the stars: each of the epic’s three canticles ends with th

A new and distinctively Catholic voice on environmental issues has evolved over the last decade. It links traditional church teaching on creation, the common good, social justice and stewardship to major environmental challenges. This often overlooked development is found in initiatives in parishes,

In September 1943 after the downfall of Mussolini and the occupation of Italy by the Germans the Allies landed forces at Salerno 160 miles south of Rome opening the attack on Hitler rsquo s Fortress Europe In Rome everyone the Germans included expected the Allied forces to be in the city wit

AIDS and Condoms: Issue Far From Settled at the VaticanAs the world paused in early December to assess the gravity of the AIDS epidemic, the Vatican found itself under a fresh barrage of criticism on the issue of condoms. "Activists Blast Vatican Stand on Condoms," "Catholics Should C

Along with Francis of Assisi Th r se of Lisieux ranks among the most venerated and popular Catholic saints and commands an impressive following that includes those with no religious faith or affiliation Th r se rsquo s life writings and reputation have prompted countless works in print rangi

Iraqi Archbishop Calls for More U.N., Arab InvolvementArchbishop Jean Benjamin Sleiman of Baghdad said the answer to Iraq’s problems is not a hasty U.S. military pullout, but greater involvement by the United Nations and Arab countries. A sudden withdrawal of U.S. and allied forces would be a

Although more than 25 years have passed, the joy I felt at Christmas in Calcutta remains more vivid than any other memory of this season. I was ending what Jesuits call the long experiment of tertianship, that third year of novitiate tacked on to the end of our training. My days had been spent offer

During the countdown early this year to the war in Iraq, Pope John Paul II and his Vatican aides wasted no opportunity to broadcast their opposition to a U.S.-led invasion. They warned that besides being unjust, an invasion would be counterproductiveit would leave many dead and wounded, destroy Iraq

Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code is a fast-paced, well-plotted murder mystery that takes the reader through the Louvre a long night of murders and a police chase out of Paris to a wet morning in London. There the identity of the evil Teacher who masterminded the killings is revealed.