Jan. 31, 2015, would have marked the 100th birthday of the American Trappist monk and author Thomas Merton.
War and Peace
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
My father’s war: A note to my father on the 100th anniversary of the US entrance into WWI
World War I stories include several about enemies who discovered one another’s humanity. On the 100th anniversary of the United States’ entry into the war, this is one.
Posted inEditorials, Politics & Society
On this day in 1941: America magazine’s editors on the Pearl Harbor attack
This is not the day of exultation. It is the day of tragedy.
Posted inFaith, In All Things
McChrystal’s Example
In many respects, the U.S. Army and the Catholic Church could not be more dissimilar institutions. Both have radically different missions, divergent access to resources, and, seemingly, heterogeneous cultures.
Posted inFaith in Focus, Politics & Society
Franz Jägerstätter: The Austrian farmer who said no to Hitler
The story of the rowdy young man who was martyred for refusing to obey Hitler.
Posted inFaith, Faith and Reason
Hard Questions About Just War
Reevaluating just war theory for a new millennium.
Posted inFaith, Faith in Focus
Dear Hearts Across the Seas: A Memorial Day Prayer
It is often said that war brings out the best and the worst in people. This is profoundly true. Men who in civilian life would not have crossed the street to help a stranger often fall in the effort to help near strangers. There are many good things to be remembered.
Posted inExplainer
Whither the Just War?
Today, Catholicism adheres to a rich theology of peace, of which the just war is only part.
Posted inArts & Culture, Film
Melting Pot: Gangs of New York
Not long ago a distant cousin, a genealogy buff, sent me an antique clipping from a local paper about a possible ancestor on trial for murder. In the labor wars of the 19th century, scabs did not have much longevity in the Irish factory towns of the Middle West. This long-forgotten enforcer simply p