When I discovered that Ladislas Orsy, S.J., had written such a lengthy response (10/21) to my article on the papacy for a global church (7/15), I wondered how I could reply with reasonable brevity. But when I read his piece, I came to realize that I had in effect answered him already, in the very ar

Imagine a couple in their mid-30’s. These people have a beautiful 20-month-old baby girl. But now, at 18 weeks of gestation, their second pregnancy goes awry. Prenatal diagnosis reveals that the developing baby has a spina bifida and hydrocephalus so serious that, if he survives until birth, h

Historian Says Pius XII Should Be Portrayed in Shades Of Gray’An accurate portrayal of Pope Pius XII in World War II should be done in shades of gray, said Gerald P. Fogarty, S.J. The pope was shaped by his training and experience as a diplomat, and what he said or did not say during the war m

Hard ChoicesIt is times like this that I most regret allowing myself to fall behind in my reading of America. On the eve of the elections, I am about one and a half months behind, and have just read The Faces Behind Us by Robert Heaney (9/30). The call to respond is strong within me.Dr. Heaney&rsquo

I once had a close encounter with Alan Greenspan chairman of the Federal Reserve Board in a ritzy restaurant in Washington named Galileo I was being taken there by in-laws I assume Greenspan was paying his own way My main worry on seeing him was not the check but his meal This is a man whose ev

Before you begin to read The Sky Unwashed you think you know what you are in for Both jacket copy and preface explain that the novel deals with the Chornobyl nuclear accident The author born and raised in Chicago is a bilingual first-generation Ukrainian- American who has traveled often to Ukr

The United States has but one graduate program in canon law and many seminaries and theologates do not have a full-time canonist among their professors Much of the extensive U S research in canon lawwhich covers a broader spectrum of ecclesial concerns than the law governing the nullity of marria

A relatively new phenomenon in this centurythey began to appear only in the early 1980’sprivately operated prisons have rapidly proliferated throughout much of the United States, especially in the South and West. Their upward surge is one result of ongoing tough-on-crime policies that have swo

Election night proved to be the most exciting moment of the 2000 presidential campaign as American voters split almost perfectly over the candidacies of George W. Bush and Al Gore. The closeness of the race had been anticipated, but the networks added to the roller-coaster excitement by first predic

It is a strange happenstance that many people, whether justified or not, see foreboding clouds looming over Catholic health care, Catholic higher education, and Catholic ecumenism. While some may contend that the problem is within these institutions, others fear that the threat is from the hierarchi