Cardinal John J. O’Connor died five years ago, but I frequently remember the times we worked together on the critical issues faced by our two communities. Our friendship was a result of the Second Vatican Council. In October 1965, 2,200 Catholic bishops adopted Nostra Aetate, the Declaration o

The face of leadership in Catholic organizations has changed dramatically in less than a generation. Catholic health care offers a clear illustration. Forty years ago most of the presidents of Catholic hospitals in the United States were Catholic women religious. Today those hospitals are nearly all

Basil Pennington Dead at 74; Known Worldwide as Writer and Teacher of PrayerAbbot M. Basil Pennington, the Trappist monk known worldwide for his books and ministry on centering prayer, died on June 3 at the University of Massachusetts Memorial Medical Center in Worcester from injuries sustained in a

Catholic Press Group Silent on ResignationCatholic Press Association members voted 48 to 28 on May 26 against a statement expressing concern about the resignation of Thomas J. Reese, S.J., as editor in chief of America magazine and emphasizing the importance of Catholic journalists’ exercising

What does the number 26,300,000 signify? It’s not the number of seconds in a day (734,400); it’s not the population of France (61,000,000); it’s not Donald Trump’s salary for his work on The Apprentice this year ($3,200,000 to say "You’re fired" 34 times). It

Neighbors Describe Pope as Humble Cat LoverSince the papal election on April 19, tidbits have begun trickling out from those who came to know Pope Benedict the man, as distinguished from the theologian. "I like him more than Wojtyla [Pope John Paul II]. Maybe that’s because I knew him,&qu

A tug of war is taking placenot among children, though they may be grievously affected by this contest’s outcomebut between the federal government and the states. The struggle is over Medicaid, the entitlement program that guarantees health care for over 50 million low-income Americans. So far

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger Elected Pope Benedict XVICardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany, 78, who has been prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith for the last 24 years, was elected the 265th pope and took the name Benedict XVI. Appearing at the central window of St. Peter’s B

Twenty-five years ago, Oscar Arnulfo Romero, the Archbishop of San Salvador, was martyred by a professional assassin while offering Mass in a hospital chapel. An investigation in 1993 by a truth commission sponsored by the United Nations determined that the killing was orchestrated by officers withi

Pope Hospitalized With Breathing ProblemsAfter Pope John Paul II was rushed to a hospital in Rome on the evening of Feb. 1 for treatment to help him overcome breathing problems, his condition stabilized and he was able to concelebrate Mass from his hospital bed, the Vatican spokesman reported. The H