Pope: Peace Entails Religious FreedomPeace and justice in the world require respect for religious freedom, solidarity and policies that look beyond economic gain and show respect for the environment, Pope Benedict XVI told five new ambassadors to the Vatican. Peace is rooted in respect for religious

First a confession: I did not want to write this article. Working as an editor at a Catholic magazine, I have grown tired of reading articles about The Da Vinci Code. Every week brings another book or essay detailing the errors of Dan Brown’s bestseller, which now boasts 40 million copies sold

The Perkiomen valley, some 40 miles north of Philadelphia, may initially appear to have little to connect it with The Da Vinci Code. But travel there to the small town of Pennsburg, Pa., and mention St. Sulpice or Opus Dei in the local diner and you are likely to receive a surprising response. Nothi

The Da Vinci Code is a systematic attack on the divinity of Jesus Christ. The book’s author, Dan Brown, pursues his quarry with an obsessiveness that overrides good storytelling technique. And Brown’s characters (supposedly in mortal danger, always just one step ahead of being captured)

The historical reputation of William Jennings Bryan has not been a distinguished one He is ridiculed for losing three presidential elections He is often presented as a reactionary spokesman for a dying rural culture that resisted yielding to the progress of urbanization His opposition to American

From the outset of this book Lisa Sowle Cahill professor of theology at Boston College draws a clear distinction between theological and secular bioethics but without ever clearly defining the distinctive nature of theological bioethics Since she has a number of goals for theological bioethics

"Pas de vitesse," said our instructor in Italian-accented French. Then in English, "No rushing." I was one of several men being trained to work as a volunteer in the baths at Lourdes last month, and I was worried. This was my third visit to the French town of Lourdes, where the V

Down on IslamSome years ago Cardinal Francis Arinze, then the president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, complained that the dialogue with Islam consisted largely of Catholic initiatives, and it was time for the church’s Muslim partners to bear responsibility too for th

Although the number of women prisoners is far smaller than the number of men, the rate of incarceration for women is rising at a much faster rate than for men. Over 200,000 women are now behind bars throughout the country, most of them African American and Hispanic. And according to the nonprofit Se

U.S. Bishops Urge Immigration ReformPresident George W. Bush’s address on May 15 about immigration reform received mixed reviews from advocates for immigrants, who expressed gratitude for his support of legalization for illegal immigrants but had concerns about his plan to deploy National Guar