Christ promised that the underworld would never overpower his church, but he did not say this community of his followers would be immune from troubles. Nor has it been. From its first days in Jerusalem, the church has often been violently shaken by forces both within and without.From a multitude of

This new edition of the fascinating account by a medieval Franciscan friar Odoric of Pordenone of his journeys through the Middle and Far East modern-day Turkey Iran Iraq India Sri Lanka Sumatra Java Borneo Vietnam and China comes at an appropriate moment in our national life Since Sept

Cities often express their unique character through the particular buildings with which they are associated In the United States for example New York City is linked with either the Statue of Liberty or the Empire State Building not to mention the recently disappeared twin towers of the World Tra

When democracies like the United States go to war it is up to the leaders of these duly elected governments to protect the life liberty and property of its citizens Military conflicts have presented a special challenge to democratic ideals and principles as the laws of the land can be severely t

U.S. Cardinals Meet in RomeThe sexual abuse of minors is rightly considered a crime by society and is an appalling sin in the eyes of God, said a communiqué issued at the conclusion of an extraordinary two-day meeting between American prelates and the Vatican officials on April 23-24. It also calle

Two high-profile projects, the building of the cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles and the renovation of the cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Milwaukee, have shown how high a pitch the controversy surrounding church building and renovation can reach. Some have scorned the cathe

In Lake Wobegon land, where I teach, ecumenism is largely a Lutheran-Catholic affair, cemented by the shared sacraments of beer and ice-fishing. My students are not much concerned with the subtleties of the recent joint declaration on justification or with the difference between transubstantiation a

Once I finally found the street in the South Bronx for which I had been searching, I almost immediately spotted my destination, a funeral home. From my vantage point inside the car, it looked like little more than a storefront, wedged in between a bodega and an apartment building. If it weren’

Every practicing Catholic, if asked, can summon a number of memorable moments (memorable being the operative word) in their liturgical life experience. Lucky for me, these span two time zones: pre-Vatican II and post-Vatican II. I am convinced it was the magic and mystery in the priest’s Intro