Thanksgiving will be for many in the United States an occasion to gather around tables groaning under the weight of food in celebration of this quintessentially American holiday. But as we give thanks, we also pray for those who are hungry. Not only does hunger remain a primary cause of mortality in

Politicians and Bishops Call for BipartisanshipAs the second razor-thin presidential election in a row was declared a victory for President George W. Bush on Nov. 3, the candidates and the Catholic bishops of the United States looked ahead to soothing bitter partisanship from the campaign. In his co

Social Doctrine Compendium Promotes Human Dignity, Common GoodThe God-given dignity of humans and the obligation to promote the common good of all the world’s people require the Catholic Church to speak on social issues, says the new Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church. The church&

Have you seen any angels lately? A whole crowd of people sighted one recently in Texas. I got the news in an urgent e-mail from my niece just a few days ago. “Uncle Bob,” she wrote, “we need your prayers. My daughter Jacquelyn and five of her friends were in a terrible accident las

U.S. Bishops to Vote on Adult Catechism, New Conference PresidentWhen the U.S. Catholic bishops meet in mid-November, they will be asked to approve a first-ever U.S. national catechism for adults and elect a new president to lead them for the next three years. They will also be asked to vote on join

Dozens of manumission papers, documents that testify to the freeing of a slave, lay strewn on the table in the archives at the Baltimore motherhouse of the Oblate Sisters of Providence. I was visiting their archivist, Reginald Gerdes, O.S.P., to learn more about this remarkable order of African-Amer

Pope Urges Bishops: Collaborate in GovernanceIn the wake of the sexual abuse scandal, U.S. bishops should be open to a more collaborative style of governance that shares responsibility with lay Catholics, Pope John Paul II said.A consultative approach should not be seen as an abandonment of episcopa

Every election cycle, it seems, brings new evidence that politics is an ignoble profession not worthy of the average citizens active participation. This years voter turnoff is breathtaking in its audacity and downright cruelty. John Kerry, a man who volunteered for a war he could have evadedas so ma

The debate over Senator John Kerry’s service in the Vietnam War sounded a sour and dispiriting note as the presidential campaign of 2004 approached the Labor Day weekend, the traditional start of the final and most serious phase of the campaign. While President Bush prepared to accept the offi

Austrian Seminary Closed Where Porn Was FoundIn consultation with the Vatican and the local bishop, a Vatican-appointed investigator has announced the closing of the seminary in the Diocese of Sankt Pölten effective immediately.Bishop Klaus Küng of Feldkirch, Austria, whom Pope John Paul II appoin