From the 1930’s through the 1950’s, Catholic parishes operated more than 100 labor schools in the basements of immigrant churches. Parishioners learned about their rights as workers, Catholic social teaching and how to organize unions. For many, being a good Catholic and a good labor lea
No painting in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York is more iconic than Paul Cézanne’s “Bather,” the pensive young man walking on water in a spare blue and beige landscape. For decades he greeted visitors in the first room of the earlier museum. He currently pres
Cardinal John J. O’Connor died five years ago, but I frequently remember the times we worked together on the critical issues faced by our two communities. Our friendship was a result of the Second Vatican Council. In October 1965, 2,200 Catholic bishops adopted Nostra Aetate, the Declaration o
Here are two ways God works. First, God seems to clear a path so obviously that you can’t doubt God’s activity. As St. Paul wrote, All things work together for good for those who love God. Second, God seems to make achieving something so difficult that you realize that the struggle is pa
Diverse Ecclesiologies
I read Christopher Ruddy’s review of volume two of my Christian Community in History with some surprise (8/1). The whole two-volume work is a history, not of the church, but of ecclesiology, the understanding of the church. Thus I was pleased when he wrote of the
Abusive labor practices continue to plague workers here and around the worlda circumstance that should give pause to those fortunate enough to earn comfortable incomes for themselves and their families. For many it may come as a surprise that even here in the United States, worker exploitation is pe
Fifteen minutes after landing in Haiti, I was having serious doubts as to whether or not this trip was a good idea. I had come to Haiti accompanying another Catholic college group at the request of my own school, to see about the possibility of setting up a joint yearly immersion trip. Our guide, a