In yet another move toward isolationism and unilateralism, the Bush administration has withdrawn all American support for the International Criminal Court, which came into existence on July 1, 2002. The administration went so far as to declare on May 6 of this year that it had unsigned the statute (

From late January to June as the sexual abuse scandal raged across the nation and ravaged the church Catholics looking for a silver lining noted that the crisis had united erstwhile opponents in the Catholic culture wars With the bishops serving as convenient whipping boys for liberals and conser

Revised Norms Support KeyElements of U.S. Bishops’ PolicyRevisions to the U.S. bishops’ norms for dealing with cases of sexual abuse by clergy reflect two overriding concerns on the part of the Vatican: revulsion at clerical sexual abuse of minors and apprehension over the possibility of

When the bishops gather in Washington, D.C., for their annual November meeting, their agenda will include voting on a revised version of their 1992 pastoral letter, “When I Called for Help: A Pastoral Response to Domestic Violence Against Women.” Although the updated version makes use of

Joint Group Proposes Draft Revisions to Sex Abuse NormsAfter a two-day meeting in Rome, a Vatican-U.S. commission has drafted proposed revisions to the U.S. bishops’ norms on clerical sexual abuse cases. A Vatican statement on Oct. 30 said the commission’s suggestions would be discussed

Spending three decades as a married couple in the same difficult apostolate—prison reform—represents no small achievement. Charlie and Pauline Sullivan are co-founders of CURE, a grassroots organization that is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year (www.curenational.org). My first e

The fundamental imperatives of the Christian vocation are two in number: love God with all your heart and mind and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. The twofold commandment involves loving in three distinct directions: love of God, love of neighbor and love of self. Any Christian spiritu

Here’s a question about the shows that have debuted during the past few weeks: What’s with all the cop/detective/law/forensics shows these days? C.S.I., C.S.I. Miami, Law and Order, Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, Law and Order: Criminal Intent, Crossing Jordan, Judging Amy, N.Y.P.D