The Rev. David Tracy, who died on April 29, was a monumental figure in American Catholicism, renowned as a teacher, scholar, writer and mentor to thousands of theologians.
Obituary
Posted inEditorials, Faith
Farewell Francis, a pope of surprises
As the Catholic Church prepares to elect a new leader, the editors of ‘America’ remember an extraordinary and beloved pontiff: Francis, a pope of monumental surprises.
Posted inFaith, Features
Brother Alois of Taizé remembers Pope Francis: A life defined by the courage of faith
Francis always encouraged me in our attempt to move forward as an ecumenical community and in welcoming young people from different churches who come to Taizé from all over the world. He was the pope, but also a father and a brother to me.
Posted inFaith, Faith and Reason
Pope Francis canonized 942 saints during his papacy. What do they tell us about him?
A person’s heroes often point to their values. In Pope Francis’ case, the people he singled out for their heroic virtues reveal a great deal about his papal priorities.
Posted inFaith, Last Take
In African culture, ‘ancestor’ is a coveted designation. Pope Francis earned it.
In Africa, a person of Pope Francis’ moral caliber and spiritual substance holds the coveted designation of “ancestor,” whose role includes everlasting solicitude for the community he or she leaves behind.
Posted inDispatches, Faith
Pope Francis pushed the U.S. church to move beyond the culture wars—with mixed results
Pope Francis was overwhelmingly popular with ordinary Catholics in the United States. But Francis’ priorities often failed to take root here.
Posted inFaith, Features
Pope Francis never stopped being a Jesuit
“Pope Francis entered the papacy as a Jesuit, governed as one and died as one,” Father James Martin writes.
Posted inDispatches, Faith
How Pope Francis changed the place of women in the church
As Pope Francis’ legacy is debated in the coming weeks, one key area for examination will be his advancements of women in the Vatican, whether his changes were sufficient and whether they will last.
Posted inFaith, Features
Pope Francis, trailblazing Jesuit with a heart for the poor, dies at 88
When the cardinals voted to elect Jorge Mario Bergoglio as the 265th successor of St. Peter on the evening of March 13, 2013, few of them imagined what kind of pope he would be.
Posted inFaith, Last Take
R.I.P. Roger Freet, a man responsible for some of your favorite Catholic books
Some of your favorite books by Christian authors came to be because of the careful and loving assistance of Roger Freet, the editor and literary agent who died on March 18.