One of the hallmarks of the young papacy of Pope Francis has been his repeated critique of what he calls the contemporary ldquo economy of inequality and exclusion rdquo Some commentators have seen this as an indictment of the present moment but the pope rsquo s stance would be misinterpreted if

'A Kind of Dream,' by Kelly Cherry

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'The Struggle for Iraq's Future,' Zaid Al-Ali

One of the many expressions of the ldquo Francis effect rdquo is the renewed prominence of ldquo mercy rdquo Pope Francis of course is not the first pope to speak of mercy in the context of God rsquo s relationship with humanity but it is certainly his signature tune mdash the word occurs mo

We know for sure that someone is permanently relevant when his or her name becomes an adjective In the week mdash last week of March 2014 mdash I finished the most recent of the very many intellectual biographies of George Orwell his adjectived name appeared twice in Brooklyn in our diocesan news