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Twenty-five Years as Pope: A Pictorial History
To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the election of John Paul II, we figured that if a picture is worth 1,000 words, then the only way to describe his pontificate briefly is with pictures. To see these photos, click here to display a PDF version of these pages in America.A PDF file is easy to read
Books
Sep 29, 2003 issue
Angelic Doctor
Stephen J. Pope
Aidan Nichols presents a brief accessible and clear introduction to the theology of St Thomas Aquinas The prior of Blackfriars in Cambridge England Nichols communicates the sweep and texture of St Thomas rsquo s thought in a remarkably direct and simple but not simplistic manner He follows
News
Signs of the Times
Pope, Physically Fading, Crisscrosses Slovakia On a trip that taxed his fading physical powers, Pope John Paul II crisscrossed Slovakia to celebrate liturgies, beatify two 20th-century martyrs and offer people inside and outside the church a message of hope. But he had trouble delivering that messag
The Lay Vocation and Voice of theFaithful
One unanticipated effect of the sexual abuse scandal that has been convulsing the Catholic Church in the United States is a growing realization on the part of the laity of how little real say they have in the government of their church. This was first brought home when many who were aware of situati
Letters
Letters

Direct Involvement

After reading Terry Golway’s No Questions, Please (8/18), I made an effort to get as close as I could possibly get on a personal basis (for someone that has no direct involvement) to what goes on in Iraq. I did this by reflecting on a house that one passes on the way into town. It’s a modest row home, and the porch is bedecked with flowers, ribbons, pictures, and an R.I.P. notice for Victor with a lettered sign below it: We love you Victor. Victor was a soldier who died during this war in Iraq. I will wait for someone to tell me that Victor’s death was justified. If/when someone does, I will ask the person to accompany me to knock on the door of Victor’s family to ask them if the death was worthwhile. In the meantime, I can only imagine the family’s sense of loss. And doing so reveals that Victor and others should not have been sacrificed. My personal consolation is that they perfectly laid down their lives for their friends, and in this they are privileged to know Christ.

Ignacio J. Silva

Of Many Things
Of Many Things
If Broadway producers can do it, why not book publishers? “It” is the revival, in the case of theater, or the reissue, in the case of books. Heaven knows there is ample need for updated editions of longstanding classics, or what the industry calls “backlist staples.” And spea
Columns
Peace Has Taken Hold
The headlines seem to herald an imminent return to violence and mayhem. Leaders who have made compromises are denounced as traitors. Diehards insist on living up to their labels. The public fears a return to the terrible days of war. Outside observers warn of a threat to democracy.The Middle East? N
Refracting the Light
They are married, single, divorced and of every nationality and ethnic group. Their ranks include professionals, laborers, students, military and immigrants. Some are straight, some gay, some are parents and some have disabilities. The common ground is that they are Catholic young adults, defined by
Adult Faith Formation: Will It Catch On This Time?
With growing clarity and insistence, voices within the church—both official and unofficial—speak repeatedly of the importance of the faith formation of adults to the life and vitality of the church. Of course, adult faith formation is not a new concern. Most of the ecclesial documents th
Letters
Letters

Old and New

The Vatican Concordat With Hitler’s Reich (9/1), by Robert A. Krieg, confirms what had to be the case in history. It has always seemed intuitive to me that the Catholic Church must have made a pact with the devil in order to survive Hitler’s grasp.

It was the conclusion of the article that surprised me.

Mr. Krieg’s conclusion asserted that Vatican II redirected a church that was concerned only with the preservation of its political structure without regard to preservation of human dignity and life. The hundreds of victims of sexual abuse might disagree.

In light of the recent revelations regarding the sexual abuse scandals and the tenacious denials by church officials for the first year or two of discovery, how can anyone say the church has changed from 1933? The poster child for the church, Cardinal Bernard F. Law, went to Rome and was not summarily dismissed by the pope in a public statement. How long did it take Cardinal Law to resign? If this wasn’t old church politics, what is?

Most bishops and higher officials knew of such indiscretions for decades, but they chose to look the other way. At the very least it was, Don’t ask, don’t tell. They chose to conceal the perpetrators within the church political structure. This was placing the interest of the institution ahead of the victims of abuse.

The new rules and regulations are in place to make sure perpetrators of sexual abuse do not go undetected and unpunished. Those who look the other way, the rule-makers i.e., bishops and cardinalscontinue to remain outside of the new rules.

Mark D’Agostino