Privacy has no enemies Its friends date back at least to St Thomas Aquinas who wrote nemo tenetur seipsum accusare mdash ldquo no one is obliged to accuse himself rdquo Is privacy destined to erode because of the electronic footprints of e-mail the Internet cell phones and the vast amounts of

Ex Corde Ecclesiae the Vatican document issued by John Paul II on Aug 15 1990 describes the relationship that should exist between the Catholic Church and Catholic colleges and universities throughout the world Even before that document was issued there had been considerable discussion and deb

The percentage of Americans living in poverty is the lowest it has been in over 20 years. Nevertheless, over against this positive news is the fact that a sixth of the nation’s children remain poor. Indeed, the Census Bureau has reported that poverty among children has actually deepened—

Last July 6 the Vatican once again reaffirmed the church’s rule that prohibits divorced Catholics from receiving Communion if they have remarried while bound by a valid previous marriage. The declaration no doubt disappointed divorced Catholics who hope to remarry one day. With half of America

It seems as if every complicated moral issue sooner or later becomes a legal issue, at least in the United States. Consider, for example, the recent tobacco litigation. The moral question is whether tobacco companies should profit by selling such a dangerous product. This moral question immediately

The world of Catholic-Jewish relations is far, far better today than it was when I was growing up in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, where Jews were the overwhelming majority. Sure, as a youngster I had some Italian, Polish, Puerto Rican and Russian friends, but I didn’t know they w

Is there anything more central to our existence than hope? And when it is denied, is there anything more disheartening? There is a poignant moment in Ralph Ellison’s novel Invisible Man when the nameless black narrator realizes he is bereft of hope: I am invisible, understand, simply because p

While the number of refugees who are residing in a foreign country dropped worldwide in the 1990’s, during the same period civil wars, government repression and other forms of social violence led to a dramatic increase in the number of persons displaced within their own countries. In Sudan alo

Two nights before Thanksgiving, and no president-elect yet. A remarkable turn of events! Morning news anchors, cable-television pundits and op-ed sages insist that Americans are demanding a quick end to the madness. A quick end? Madness? Why, I don’t know a soul who feels that way! Most people