Voices
Jon M. Sweeney
Jon M. Sweeney is a frequent contributor to America and the author of many books including Francis of Assisi in His Own Words and, for children, The Pope’s Cat series, illustrated by Roy DeLeon.
@jonmsweeney
Articles By Jon M. Sweeney
Arts & Culture Books
Pope Francis gets a cartoon treatment
Jon M. SweeneyMay 04, 2018
A graphic novel about Pope Francis.
Arts & Culture Books
What Christians can learn from new books on Judaism
Jon M. SweeneyApril 24, 2018
Every Christian needs a better understanding of the Jewish origins of his or her faith.
Faith Features
Who will be the next Billy Graham?
Jon M. SweeneyMarch 05, 2018
People have been asking this question for decades.
Politics & Society Features
How Billy Graham shaped American Catholicism
Jon M. SweeneyFebruary 21, 2018
Remembering Billy Graham’s relationships with presidents, priests and popes.
Arts & Culture Books
Looking for good Christmas presents? Try these books
Jon M. SweeneyDecember 01, 2017
Every now and then, one comes across a book that seems unique. Its authors, editors and publisher are not so much meeting an already-expressed need as they are anticipating (or creating) one.
Black Elk as a Catholic teacher and as a Lakota leader. (Left photo: Marquette University Archives, Bureau of Catholic Indian Mission Records, ID 00559; right photo: Marquette University Archives, Bureau of Catholic Indian Mission Records, ID 01287/Ben Hunt)
Faith Features
Black Elk, the Lakota medicine man turned Catholic teacher, is promoted for sainthood
Jon M. SweeneyOctober 01, 2017
Sainthood for Black Elk could help the inclusion of indigenous Americans within the Catholic Church, but it also raises questions about the church's role in erasing Lakota culture.
Ivan Kramskoy Painting a Portrait of his Daughter
Arts & Culture Books
Telling Lives: The confusing business of biography
Jon M. SweeneyJune 02, 2017
Jon Sweeney reviews "Lessons in Hope: My Life with John Paul II," "Milosz: A Biography," and "This Long Pursuit: Reflections of a Romantic Biographer."
There are a few genuine public intellectuals among professors of religion, and Cornel West is chief among them. Here he is pictured, center, protesting against police brutality in New York City in 2015.
Arts & Culture Books
From the academy, books that think (and a few that sell)
Jon M. SweeneyFebruary 16, 2017
Very few professors become best-selling authors, but it happens.
Arts & Culture Books
Why we need Catholics telling stories in every possible way
Jon M. SweeneyOctober 27, 2016
So what defines a Catholic novel? I am still struggling with that question. But I know that that which asks most of us is most worthy of us.
Books
In Search of the Catholic Novel
Jon M. SweeneyJune 23, 2016
'The Relic Master,' by Christopher Buckley; 'The Man Who Loved Birds,' by Fenton Johnson; "The Thing About December,' by Donal Ryan