Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
News
Vatican on Scandals—Defensive but Understands SeriousnessAfter months of reticence, the Vatican confronted the painful issue of clerical sex abuse in a twin initiative—a papal letter and a press conference. According to John Thavis of Catholic News Service, statements issued on March 21
Of Many Things
Out of town and alone, you want to call home but the only phone available requires collect calls and your family can’t afford the chargesa temporary problem for many, but one that could last for years if you are behind bars. Telephones represent a lifeline between prisoners and their families,
In a radio address last Dec. 5, President Bush expressed concern about soaring unemployment in the recession: It’s a time to reach out to Americans who are hurting, to help them put food on the table and to keep a roof over their heads. The president emphasized that his immediate priority was
Faith in Focus
We were told to meet at the Bronze Door of the Vatican Palace on the morning of Dec. 23 last year. After the security check and a short wait at the foot of a monumental marble stairway, we were led up through the vast courtyard of St. Damasus, down a long gallery decorated with frescos of old maps a
Editorials
The mood this easter in the American church is particularly solemn. The penitential season of Lent and the six-month anniversary of the attack on our country have combined with almost daily revelations of clerical misconduct to create a most somber tone. Despite all the scandal and muckraking, the l
Books
Apr 08, 2002 issueThe story of seven men who literally lost their heads for Christor more accurately for their fellow humans whom they selflessly loved in Christis one of heroic beauty And John W Kiser tells it in full The Monks of Tibhirine the author rsquo s third book after Communist Entrepreneurs and Stefan
Books
Apr 08, 2002 issueThomas Cahill rsquo s highly successful Hinges of History series has established him as one of the most engaging and popular authors in the field of religion today Three volumes have been published thus far How the Irish Saved Civilization The Gifts of the Jews and Desire of the Everlasting Hills
Jodi Zierhut, a parole and probation agent for the Department of Corrections in Milwaukee, Wis., escorts a client out of her office. She has a caseload of about 40 sex offenders. Another agent comes up to her and whispers, I can’t believe he’s a sex offender. Even people trained to think
"Gay priests are living a lie", declares Garry Wills in his book Papal Sin: Structures of Deceit (Doubleday, 2000). As a priest-psychotherapist who has spent 25 years conducting workshops, support groups and retreats for gay priests and religious men and women, this statement and those who
Letters
Our Own Penance
To add to the tragedy of pedophile priests (Signs of the Times, 3/18), there have been no words of sorrow, no admissions of complicity, no words of compassion from the pope or his Vatican officials addressed directly to the victims (and their families) of sexual abuse by priests. The victims have been stonewalled and ignored. The only thing we hear about is damage to the church.
Pope John Paul II has repeatedly exhorted us that there is no peace without justice, no justice without forgiveness. In order to make just amends, we must begin by doing our own penance at the highest level in the church. Anything less only adds to this continuing injustice that eats away at any credibility we may yet have.
(Rev.) Charles E. Irvin