People tend to look back and read history including their personal stories as inevitable Historians particularly those willing to ask What if can occasionally help us see the way that certain events might have been otherwise how much they depended on a gossamer tissue of contingencies not on

Ron Hansen has established himself as a significant contemporary American writer with five novels and a collection of stories that have earned him numerous awards and fellowships as well as an endowed chair at Santa Clara University in California He has now collected 14 essays variously published

Youth Ministers, Chaplains Offer Comfort to Shooting VictimsIn an outpouring of faith in the midst of tragedy, Catholic youth ministers, priests, chaplains, parents and teens ministered to one another following the shooting on March 5 of 15 people at Santana High School in Santee, Calif. Five youth

Some day medical science may be able to heal or alleviate ailments like Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, diabetes, spinal cord injuries, heart disease and cancer by giving patients new cells that have been guided to act as replacements for their own damaged tissue. Sometimes the

Pope Presides Over Biggest Consistory in HistoryOn Feb. 21 John Paul II created 44 new cardinals, bringing to 166 the number of cardinals he has appointed—more than any other pope in history. Of the 184 living cardinals, 160 were appointed by John Paul. Forty of the new cardinals are under the

God would have saved the city of Sodom, we are told in Gen. 18:22-33, if Abraham had only been able to find 10 just people. With all the bad news pouring out of Israel these daysdaily Palestinian and Jewish body counts, rising hysteria on both sides and a hardening of attitudesone finds oneself desp

Funding for Faith-Based Initiatives Seen as First HurdleThe first real test of whether President Bush’s proposed faith-based initiatives will succeed in changing the way the nation’s social services are provided will come in his budget proposal, said an official with Catholic Charities U

The United States bishops in their 1999 statement, Faithful Citizenship, called on Catholics and all citizens to stay involved in public life...and participate in the debates and choices... and for voters to examine the position of candidates on a full range of issues....Central to the bishops&rsquo

In his gracious concession speech, Vice President Al Gore showed himself to be a better loser than a campaigner. [W]hat remains of partisan rancor now must be put aside, he told the nation. Now, the political struggle is over and we turn again to the unending struggle for the common good of all Amer

Ex Corde Ecclesiae the Vatican document issued by John Paul II on Aug 15 1990 describes the relationship that should exist between the Catholic Church and Catholic colleges and universities throughout the world Even before that document was issued there had been considerable discussion and deb