Over the past months, America asked several prominent Catholics in the United States to look ahead to the challenges that will face the next pope. These American Catholics come from various parts of the country and represent a variety of perspectives. They are theologians, teachers, activists, write
For so many people, John Paul II was a moral magnet, even in death. A commentator on PBS called him a pope for all seasons. One could understand why. The whole world could watch massive lines of people, 35 across, snaking through the streets of Rome. Eighteen thousand an hour, two million in all, wa
Twenty-five years ago, Oscar Arnulfo Romero, the Archbishop of San Salvador, was martyred by a professional assassin while offering Mass in a hospital chapel. An investigation in 1993 by a truth commission sponsored by the United Nations determined that the killing was orchestrated by officers withi
In the spring of 2005, Pope John Paul II and Theresa Schindler Schiavo died within three days of each other. The pope’s death was held up as a Christian model; Ms. Schiavo’s was a flashpoint of moral and ecclesial turmoil. Terri Schiavo was 41 years old, had been in a so-called persisten
Time for Reflection
After reading Of Many Things, by James Martin, S.J., (3/14), I am saddened that any of my fellow America readers would write in nasty or vituperative terms. I would have hoped that people who subscribe to such a publication as yours would have outgrown such tricks. It
The next pope will face many challenges, some of them unprecedented in the life of the church. While the papacy is not the church, it is difficult to overestimate the influence that a pope can have on the church. Certainly John Paul II had a tremendous impact on the church and the world at the end o
In Gilead Marilynne Robinson rsquo s first novel since she published Housekeeping 25 years ago the author offers a profound prayerfully paced narrative containing a wealth of literary consolations To the reviewer rsquo s bromide ldquo Run don rsquo t walk to your nearest bookstore and buy th