The evening sun is perceived as still setting when in fact it has already dipped below the horizon. Something similar happens in other contexts. A historic period, for example, may actually have ended before the people it shaped quite realize it has gone.   An instance of this is suggested almo

The lights went out at 4:11 p.m. on Aug. 14, along with the telephones, computers, television sets, air conditioning and all the other essentials of modern life that we take for granted. They are just there, dependable, and yet in truth it is we who are dependent. At first we are simply surprised. T

The prospects are dark for the world’s refugees and asylum seekers. Ever more stringent security measures in the wake of terrorist attacks have led to higher and higher barriers in countries that once welcomed them. These less-than-welcoming countries, moreover, are among the wealthiest: the U

Faced with the suffering caused by World War 60 years ago the Catholic bishops of the United States founded the War Relief Services. That organization evolved into Catholic Relief Services, which can now look back on a proud heritage of supporting disaster relief efforts throughout the world during

In June 2002 the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in California, rocked the nation with a broad ruling against the constitutionality of including “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance. Last February, however, the same court rewrote and greatly narrowed its decision

President Bush has signed into law a measure that will allocate $15 billion to fight AIDS in the poorest countries of Africa and the Caribbean. This is a hopeful sign. It shows that the rich nations are finally taking concrete notice of a pandemic that is affecting ever greater numbers of people. Ad

Most public schools make their facilities available after school hours to a wide variety of private nonprofit organizations, including religious organizations. Some states, however, including New York, absolutely forbid public schools to allow religious worship—even after regular school hours

Generations of college freshmen have puzzled over the ancient notion of the “noble lie.” “If anyone at all is to have the privilege of lying,” Socrates suggests in Plato’s Republic, “the rulers of the state should be the persons; and they, in their dealings either

May a state government run a lottery with the proviso that the winner may not donate the prize to any institution that trains students to become ministers of religion? This question is not yet before the U.S. Supreme Court. But a somewhat similar situation is presented in a case that the court has a

The U.S. Department of Justice reported in April that the incarcerated population of the United States has topped two million—men, women and yes, children too. Drug offenses account for a large proportion of those currently behind bars. Even low-level drug offenders regularly receive long sent