Pius, who was pope from 1939 to 1958, has been strongly attacked for not speaking out publicly against the Holocaust but defended by some for the vast hidden work he did to help many victims of the Nazis, fascists and communists.
History
Posted inArts & Culture, Books
Review: Hubert H. Humphrey, a politician worth emulating
Arnold Offner’s biography shows Hubert Humphrey as a serious man who sought a serious goal: the betterment of his fellow Americans, whether through persuasion or legislation.
Posted inArts & Culture, Books
Review: How we can imagine Jesus in his own culture
Jerome Neyrey’s new book displays the many ways in which Jesus was not only “like us in all things” but also definitely a person incarnated in his own culture.
Posted inArts & Culture, Books
Review: The ethics of medicine
Have you ever wondered why a snake entwined on a staff is a symbol of medicine? Or why doctors take an oath to practice medicine?
Posted inArts & Culture, Books
Review: Los Angeles in letters
Los Angeles is a city that grabs you by the arm—nearly by the throat—and insists you hear another explanation of what it means.
Posted inDispatches, Faith
The Jesuit institution uncovering the truth (and fake news) about saints
Most of what we know about saints—from the most beloved to the most obscure—comes from the little-known Bollandist Society.
Posted inFaith, The Good Word
Does suffering always lead to greatness?
By itself, suffering is no gateway to greatness. Yet it’s hard to find titans of history who didn’t know great sorrow.
Posted inFaith, Faith and Reason
Is archaeology academic liturgy?
Recognizing the ritual nature of scientific inquiry will allow universities to undertake that inquiry in a manner that better serves its mission.
Posted inFaith, Faith and Reason
Daniel E. Burns: Don’t appoint bishops. Elect them.
The Catholic church would benefit if bishops felt more like local leaders and less like regional managers in a Rome-based nonprofit. One way to move in that direction would be to have the clergy elect their bishops.
Posted inFaith, Faith and Reason
Massimo Faggioli: Electing bishops will not solve the church’s problems.
There is no question that the process for the appointment of bishops should be updated. But the election of bishops with procedures similar to democratic elections would only exacerbate all kinds of rifts in the Catholic Church today.