It is a great privilege to be here with you this evening to be with the many friends and admirers of Cardinal Dulles and to offer these words in deep appreciation and gratitude for all that he has been for us, all that he has shared with us as priest, as theologian and as friend. It would be neglige

A reflection on Cardinal Avery Dulles' McGinley lectures

A history of liturgical renewal at Vatican II, reviewed

The former White House speechwriter Michael Gerson widely credited with authorship of such George W Bush catchphrases as ldquo axis of evil rdquo and ldquo the soft bigotry of low expectations rdquo is no stranger to big ideas And here he has assumed no small task In Heroic Conservatism Ge

I have a friend of mine who is a great lover of classical music His knowledge of it is vast He only needs to hear a few bars of most musical works and he confidently declares Mozart s Piano Concerto in A or Stravinsky s Rite of Spring He s always right Another of his superfluous but

The culture of campaign consultants and the layer of control it places between the people and their elected officials has changed and diminished our democracy in important ways But democracy is only as good as the voters want to make it If we the electorate put up with air-brushed answers to

N T Wright one of the greatest and certainly most prolific Bible scholars in the world has touched a nerve with his new book Surprised by Hope Rethinking Heaven the Resurrection and the Mission of the Church What happens when we die How should we think about heaven hell purgatory an

Accompanying the pope s video message released today is this report from Catholic News Service Here is the Vatican text of Pope Benedict XVI s message in English and Spanish to Catholics in the United States The pope will visit the U S April 15-20 Dear brothers and sisters in the Un

The demotion of Clinton campaign pollster and strategist Mark Penn illustrates a broader sickness in the political world that sadly will survive Penn s saga The single worst development within American politics over the past 40 years has been the professionalization of politics and the rise of

The Vatican announced yesterday that Pope Benedict would meet briefly with Jewish leaders during his trip to Washington and New York City this month At the same time perhaps in preparation for the possible opposition from Jewish leaders on the language of the Good Friday prayers that are part