Chile s political dynamics were largely unknown to the American public prior to this week s dramatic rescue of 33 miners And now we generally only hear about how the episode will affect President Sebasitian Pinera s chances for reelection The Jesuit-edited Mensaje magazine is a valuable source of

Notre Dame economist Charles K Wilber will be taking readers questions on his article Awakening the Giant this Thursday October 14 To pose a question simply post to the article comments boxes Here is Wilber on why the government should consider raising taxes--and why that idea is so fiercely

The decision to award Robert Edwards the developer of in vitro fertilization the Nobel Prize received front page coverage from the New York Times today The story notes the church s objections to the procedure but does little to flesh them out For more on that front see today s story from Cathol

A few notable online items this week First an interview with George Coyne S J of the Vatican Observatory Fr Coyne explains how the Vatican became involved in astronomy and responds to Stephen Hawking s recent statements on the origins of the universe see minute 15 40 Kevin Clarke recently

Amidst the depressing polariation in Congress little attention was paid last week to a rare moment of bipartisan action the vote by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to move the New Strategic Arms Committee START to forward the whole Senate for a vote Three Republicans joined the Democrats

CARA s blog 1964 looks at the Catholic makeup of Britain in honor of the pope s recent visit The size of the Catholic population in Britain has changed little since the last papal visit in 1982 growing only 2 7 The most recent Vatican estimates indicate just fewer than 5 2 million Catholics i

Our latest offering from Mirada Global a look at the legacy of Colombian President Alvaro Uribe and the challenges facing his newly installed successor Jos eacute Manuel Santos nbsp Colombians expect that the recently inaugurated government of Jos eacute Manuel Santos will put an end to decad

The conversation on the future of Catholic education continues as three more respondents weigh in on Archbishop Dolan s article The Catholic Schools We Need Patrick J McCloskey author of The Street Stops Here argues that Catholic schools could flourish if more institutions and individuals wer

Here is our latest offering from Mirada Global an analysis of politics in Mexico on the anniversary of the country s founding Due to its deeply conservative nature the Mexican government is unable to face the Independence and the Revolution that marked the history of this country Questioned beca

Bishop Blase J Cupich a friend and contributor to America was installed last week as the sixth bishop of Spokane Washington Here we are happy to reprint his homily from that occasion The installation Mass took place on Friday September 3 the feast of St Gregory the Great The late Father Dav