Voices
John A. Coleman S.J., is an associate pastor at St. Ignatius Church in San Francisco. For many years he was the Casassa Professor of Social Values at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. His books and other writing have focused largely on areas connected to sociology of religion and also to social ethics. His most recent work has concentrated on issues of globalization.
Arts & CultureBooks
John A. Coleman, S.J., reviews "A Church of the Poor: Pope Francis and the Transformation of Orthodoxy" by Clemens Sedmak.
In All Things
I have been mulling over the dialogue in Robert Frost 39 s classic poem nbsp ldquo Mending rdquo In it a neighbor of the nbsp narrator of the poem is shoring up a broken wall His motto rings out quot Good fences make good neighbors quot But the poem 39 s narrator has his doubts quot So
Blogs
The Vatican through the pope 39 s press spokesman announced that Pope Francis is working on his first encyclical dealing with the environment Not surprising that he chose this topic since it is a theme he has often broached On March 16 2013 Francis stated he chose the name of Francis of Assi
In All Things
Thirty-five years ago by chance I came across a new edition of nbsp The Showings nbsp of Julian of Norwich I spent an entire summer reading and re-reading and continuously praying over that mystic 39 s writings based on the revelations she received in 1373 as she lay dying There are two versions
In All Things
I saw the other night the world premiere of a brilliant and ironic new play Lasso of Truth by Carson Kreitzer at the Marin Theatre Company The play raises for us some of the subtle ironies behind the cartoon character Wonder Woman and some of the vagaries of contemporary feminism In it a pr
In All Things
Five years ago I wrote a Lenten meditation quot Jesus the Prisoner quot America March 30-April 6 2009 I was interested in the theme because I was then reading a book written by Michael Kennedy S J Jesus the Risen Prisoner An Invitation to Freedom I was taken by how rarely we ever hear o
In All Things
A prospective reader of this blog noting its title might assume that it might be about contemplation the meditative techniques and practices which help us see ourselves and the world differently In fact it is about my reactions to an extraordinary and large the largest exhibit ever held in San
In All Things
Cardinal John Henry Newman 39 s classic 1859 article quot On Consulting the Faithful on Matters of Doctrine quot was much disputed in his time and after Newman included the laity among those faithful but also parish priests and indeed the whole body of the faithful He wanted to stress not ju
In All Things
When I saw recently the excellent movie quot Disconnect quot about the destructive potentials in internet use I was led to reflect or notice the following items Item 1 In late February of this year I spent four days in Northern Minnesota giving some lectures at Saint John 39 s University
In All Things
The Marin Theatre Company in Mill Valley has mounted the west coast premiere of Matthew Lopez 39 s play quot The Whipping Man quot The play won the 2011 John Gassner new play award from the New York Outer Critics 39 Circle It played there at the Manhattan Theatre Club It is set at the end o