In All Things
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On the way to Hangzhou. I am beginning this blog on the bullet train from Beijing down to Hangzhou, a large city to the south and closer to Shanghai. The trains are impressive, beginning with the very fine South Station in Beijing, the efficiency of information, and (most of all, for those of us familiar with Amtrak), the speed of the train, over 300 kilometers an hour – more than 180 miles an hour.
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Beijing, China. I am here for a brief visit at the Minzu University (the central university for ethnic, cultural, and religious minorities) here in the capital – in the section of the city where a number of universities are clustered, as well as the National Library, the zoo, and some lovely parks. I was invited to Beijing (on my first visit) to make or renew contact with some professors here, talk a bit about my work in a series of lectures, and meet students interested in the study of...
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Last Sunday in Aleppo a 14-year old boy, Muhammad al-Quatta, was selling coffee in his kiosk when he was overheard refusing a customer a free cup with a cheeky refusal that even if Muhammad, peace be upon him, were to come to earth he would not get a cup of coffee unless he paid for it. Three long-bearded men overheard this “insult,” snatched him away, beat him and, as hundreds of people gathered in the square, his mother watching from a balcony, the abductors pronounced him a sinner, pulled...
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Edmund Pellegrino, M.D., who served as the President of The Catholic University of America from 1978 to 1982, passed away June 13 at the age of 92.
During Pellegrino’s tenure as the University’s 11th President, Pope John Paul II made his historic visit to campus in 1979 and addressed Catholic educators. He was the second layman to hold the position of University President.
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It seems as if every couple years a National Security Agency or surveillance story is leaked to exactly the same response: mass hysteria and public demands that the government release reports of just how deep these procedures dig. And it seems as if every couple years we forget that the same thing happened just a couple years ago.
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Yesterday I made my way to St Ephrem’s Church Brooklyn, New York for the funeral of Bishop Joseph Sullivan. This is the parish where Joe was baptized, educated ( “he had mostly A’s, but only a C+ in conduct” ), celebrated his first Mass as a priest and bishop, and where we gathered to say goodbye and celebrate his life. And what a life it was…
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Heathrow Airport, UK. As I write these words, I am in Terminal 5, that new and cosmopolitan crossroads for people traveling, it seems, just about everywhere in the world; a shopping mall of global proportions. I am on my way to Beijing for a brief 12-day visit; more on that, later. But as I waitin transit, I want to note quickly the fact of this year’s Catholic Theological Society of America annual meeting, just held in Miami, ending on June 9. You can find the program...
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Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi is refusing to comment on a "private meeting," but Pope Francis is being quoted by a number of European media outlets, including AFP (Agence France Presse), as confirming the existence of a "gay lobby" inside the Vatican that he suggests may be among the targets of a newly formed special commission on curial reform. "In the Curia, there are holy people, truly holy people, but there is also a current of corruption," the pope said, according to a transcript...
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A recent study by the Rev. Francis Perry Azah, a priest from Ghana and a doctoral-level pastoral counselor, offers a clear and wide-ranging view into situations of child abuse in Ghana. Titled Wholeness of the Abused Children and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: A Psycho-Pastoral Perspective, the study features many of situations that are unknown to us in the Northern hemisphere.
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Shortly after the suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings was arrested, I went to some friends’ house for dinner. We discussed the use of surveillance cameras to identify the two Tsarnaev brothers and speculated on whether other cities would be increasing their use of them. Almost certainly, we thought. My host, Paul, said that increased surveillance by the government doesn’t really bother him if it keeps him and other people safe.
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Miami, Florida. I am here for the annual meeting of the Catholic Theological Society of America, and contemplating also my departure for a 12-day trip to China on Monday. More on those events in other blogs. This blog is rather about a five year and just finished project sponsored by the American Academy of Religions – the largest grouping of religion scholars in the world – with generous support from the Luce Foundation: ...
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The heads of the national conferences of bishops from the nations participating in the upcoming G8 summit have sent a joint letter to the leaders of G8 nations commenting on the issues they would like to see emphasized at the summit.
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With the nation still reeling over the revelations of infanticide and assorted grotesqueries that emerged during the trial of abortionist Kermit Gosnell in Philadelphia last month and bucking a national trend of legislative encroachments against broad abortion rights, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo introduced the Women’s Equality Act on June 4, new...
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Some items to note today at America:
Pope Francis on Pope John XXIII 'Faith Leads to Interior Peace': The life of Blessed John XXIII is a lesson in how obedience and trust in God lead to an interior peace that is naturally recognized by and shared with others, Pope Francis said. Joining a pilgrimage of 3,000 people from the late pope's home diocese -- Bergamo, Italy -- Pope...