From 1982: “When unemployment and nuclear weapons sound the notes of despair and dread in our land, many Catholics too may find the sober lessons of Lent more instructive than ever this year.”
Joseph A. O’Hare
Joseph A. O’Hare, S.J., served as America’s editor in chief from 1975-84, before being named president of Fordham University, and remained there until 2003. Also a civic leader, Father O’Hare returned to America in 2003 to serve as an associate editor. He retired in 2009 and was involved in pastoral work until his death in 2020.
Posted inOf Many Things, Politics & Society
40 years ago, Pope John Paul II was shot in St. Peter’s Square. Joseph O’Hare, SJ, was not surprised.
There was an inevitability to the newsflash: Sooner or later, someone was going to shoot Pope John Paul II.
Posted inFaith, Vantage Point
In solidarity with the slain Jesuits of El Salvador
Joseph A. O’Hare, S.J., former editor in chief of America, gave this homily at a memorial Mass for the Jesuits slain Jesuits at St. Ignatius Church in New York on Nov. 22, 1989.
Posted inOf Many Things
Of Many Things
You may not have noticed, but the listing of associate editors on the masthead of this journal is determined by seniority. When I returned from the Philippines in the Spring of 1972 to join the staff, my name was added at the end of a list of seven other Jesuits who had preceded me. Immediately ahea
Posted inOf Many Things
Of Many Things
I hope you will not think it hopelessly chauvinistic if I suggest that we no longer celebrate St. Patrick’s Day but St. Patrick’s season, at least in the Northeast. On the day itself, March 17, New York City will hold its oldest and grandest parade. But because so many neighboring towns
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Of Many Things
Massive overnight snowfalls in New York City usually mean awakening to a preternatural stillness, with city streets silenced for the moment before the plows begin to clear away huge mountains of snow and the noise of midtown traffic returns. The near-blizzard of 2006, the greatest snowstorm recorded
Posted inFrom Our Archives
In Solidarity
This morning we confirm our commitment to this cause for which the Jesuits of Central American University in El Salvador gave their lives. They were not men of violence; they were men of peace and reason. Yet they died violently. Like the Servant of Yahweh, they did not cry out or shout out aloud or
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Of Many Things
Institutional cultures are notoriously hard to change, whether the institution is a corporation, a university or a not-for-profit organization. Those who are comfortable with unquestioned assumptions and accustomed ways of doing things are not likely to recognize the need for change, even when the i
Posted inOf Many Things
Of Many Things
During his surprising appearance on “Meet the Press” on Feb. 8, President Bush outlined what most observers believe will be the basic argument of his campaign for re-election in November 2004. The dominant theme of that campaign was probably captured in the president’s assertion to