The inhumane treatment of prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad shocked and puzzled Americans. How could soldiers dedicated to the spread of democracy, with its protection of basic human rights, have behaved in such a brutal way? Unfortunately, few Americans saw Abu Ghraib as an opportunity

In the city of Ground Zero, what are Muslims saying about cartoons? When I ask the question to Muslim friends, they tell me stories I wish more people could hear. Muslims in New York seem remarkably unconsumed by the cartoons, because well before 9/11 they understood the need to be self-critical and

On my fifth day at the project, I was asked to work with the carpenters who were refitting and expanding tool bins on 18-foot flatbed trailers. The number of volunteers was rapidly increasing, necessitating an increase in our capacity to get wrecking and dismantling tools into the field. From 50 wee

Church Leaders Call for Peace in MideastPope Benedict XVI endorsed a declaration by the Group of 8 that criticized the militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah for fueling an escalation in fighting and urged Israel to exercise restraint. "I find myself in full agreement with the G-8 communiqué,&quo

This fine new collection by the distinguished poet Jack Gilbert looks back on the pleasures of many years with what he calls ldquo a tough happiness rdquo ldquo The Garden rdquo Gilbert rsquo s life has been an odyssey taking off from his native Pittsburgh which developed in him ldquo a ta

Racism in the United States can take many forms. Some are as obvious as slurs shouted from cars or hate crimes; others are less apparent. One of racism’s covert guises is housing discrimination. In April the National Fair Housing Alliance released its fair housing trends report, Unequal Opport

McCarrick Warns Against Partisanship in ChurchCardinal Theodore E. McCarrick sharply warned the U.S. bishops on June 15 that "the intense polarization and bitter battles of partisan politics may be seeping into [the] broader ecclesial life of our Catholic people and maybe even of our [bishops&r

A tragic irony of the war in Iraq is that it is a Marine Corps unit that is suspected of the largest single atrocity so far reported there. For while the Marines have suffered a disproportionate number of casualties, they have also made an exemplary effort to treat Iraqi civilians with respect. They

Bishops Approve New Texts for Order of MassIn what Bishop Donald W. Trautman called a truly important moment in liturgy in the United States, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops approved a new English translation of the Order of Mass and adopted several U.S. adaptations during a national meeting