The arguments for women rsquo s ordination to the diaconate have been circulating for a number of years indeed centuries What then is Zagano rsquo s original contribution to this important ecclesial discussion and debate In my opinion it is simply this She writes in a synthetic way for a new ge

What would be a theologically sound, spiritually empowering and ethically challenging theology of Mary, mother of Jesus the Christ, for the 21st century?

Convergence 2000 began appropriately with a meal at the guest house and ended with the reading of "The Madeleva Manifesto: A Message of Hope and Courage." The warm welcome and hospitality of Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Ind., surrounded us during the entire weekend of April 27

Two provocative offerings in this week’s issue deserve particular attention, not only in light of their authorship, but also because of the importance of their message for the universal church. The first is this year’s John Courtney Murray lecture, delivered by Elizabeth A. Johnson, C.S.

I stepped gingerly into the room. It was only my third week volunteering at the nursing home, and I was still very unsure of myself. A curtain enclosed the bed, and a fan slowly moved its head back and forth, lazily stirring the air and muffling all sounds. I gently pushed aside the curtain and peek

Visions of God's JusticeFelicitations on your education issue (5/20). Space being precious, I single out the article by James E. Hug, S.J., on education for justice--a candid, straightforward, courageous challenge to our Jesuit educational enterprise. It spells out for that ministry what several

One night recently I was visiting with a group of friends and listening to the music of Billie Holiday, Miles Davis, Nina Simone, John Coltrane and Ray Charles. Our conversation about African-American culture turned to a thought-provoking question: Why do more and more African-Americans reject the c

Professors Rodney Stark and Roger Finke, who teach sociology at the University of Washington and Purdue University respectively, think the Catholic Church will suffer membership reverses characteristic of mainline Protestant denominations. The two professors offered the following observations on the

In the oppressive heat of the midday sun, the nun in full habit held two heavy shovels. She walked just behind the gravediggers, who tried to carry with some dignity a lifeless body wrapped in old hospital bedsheets. We had arrived here in India just a few weeks before this burial.

The day after Cardinal O’Connor’s death I received a package delivered by U.P.S. It was from Alba House (Society of St. Paul) and contained a copy of their newest publication, The Life and Times of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen. The author, Myles P. Murphy, is a New York archdiocesan priest