Polls: Most Catholics Like Pope; Many Say Church Is Out of TouchMost Catholics who responded to polls conducted to coincide with the 25th anniversary of Pope John Paul II’s election on Oct. 16 said they approve of the way the pope has done his job. But many of the respondents also said they ho

I had a disconcerting conversation recently with a former therapy client who was trying to decide whether or not to marry the woman he had been living with for some time. The woman in question possessed all the qualities he had already decided were essential in a life partner—except that she w

At the core of the Christian faith and important in many other faiths is a theme that has not received much attention even at this moment in our history, when religious struggle, the clash of civilizations as some would call it, is shaping the current debate. It is a word not given much consideratio

As the head of the Episcopal Church in the United States confirmed that the consecration of the world’s first openly gay bishop would go ahead as planned, the Archbishop of Canterbury has said a huge crisis is looming for the Anglican Communion. Speaking after an emergency meeting of the world

My friend Sam almost died last week. Given his age, that should not have surprised me, I suppose. What I did not expect, however, was that I nearly lost Sam to nothing more serious than a pair of ministrokes. Even a 63-year-old should have survived this medical problem without too much trouble. Yet

Fenton Johnson grew up in the shadow of Gethsemani Abbey in Kentucky the youngest of nine children born in a Catholic county surrounded by a Protestant sea For years his family home had been like a second home to monks from the abbey who walked over for conversation a beer or for some spare part

World Joins John Paul II in Anniversary CelebrationAs voices from around the world offered congratulations and encouragement, Pope John Paul II celebrated a 25th anniversary Mass and prayed for the wisdom, holiness and strength to keep leading the church. The Mass in St. Peter’s Square on Oct.

Two summers ago I passed through the entrance gate to the camp at Auschwitz in Poland and read the chilling phrase, “Arbeit Macht Frei” (Work Makes You Free). I wandered the now still streets of that concentration camp viewing the scuffed, unclaimed luggage, some marked with its owner&rs

Growing up Catholic in the 1950’s, my first understanding of the term mission centered around pagan babies, milk-carton penny collections and stories of religious in full habit harvesting souls abroad. Only later did I discover that the term included Home Missions in the United States.These mi

"My prayer during the bombing of Baghdad was that I would be ready to die,” said Cathy Breen. “The air in the city was filled with black smoke, both from the bombs themselves and from the oil fires that had been lit.” Cathy, a Catholic Worker who lives at Mary House on Manhattan&rs