While the majority of the 53 000 babies born prematurely each year in the United States would have died soon after birth if they had been born years ago this improvement is not an unmitigated success story since a good number of these children will endure long-term suffering and disability John L

John Mearsheimer the R Wendell Harrison Distinguished Service Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago has a gift for generating controversy In an address he gave in 1997 to the entering freshman class about the aims of an undergraduate education Mearsheimer argued that Chica

Seminary Enrollment UpU.S. Catholic theological seminaries enrolled 101 more students this year than last year, the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate said. The figure rose from 3,483 in the 2000-01 academic year to 3,584 in 2001-02. It marked the fifth straight year of increases and the

Spring break, in our mountainous part of the country, does not always coincide with spring. The chill of winter often lingers past the vernal equinox. Today, for example, it is snowing on our poor, tentative tulip shoots. The wind is at war with forward progress, and the ice on the road has kept us

Child sexual abuse, in the priesthood and in society at large, is a complex issue that does not admit of simple understandings or simple solutions.

Suddenly everyone is an expert on celibacy. Suddenly everyone is an expert on the priesthood. Suddenly everyone is an expert on gay priests. Or more accurately, suddenly everyone is happy to talk about the Catholic Church, no matter how little they know about Catholicism.Maureen Dowd, in a hateful c

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

Just as the omens in Congress had begun pointing in the direction of changes in U.S.-Cuba policydropping the travel ban, facilitating sales of food and medicinesthe events of Sept. 11 took place, and the president declared war on international terrorism. It’s been a long time since Cuba could