Please remember the family of Francis X Clooney S J in your prayers as they mourn the death of their father James J Clooney Fr Frank Clooney is a frequent contributor to In All Things you can read his lovely tribute to his father on the occasion of his 90th birthday here Tim Reidy nbsp

Last night I attended an Advent service of song and readings at my parish church accompanied by two close friends one a secular agnostic and the other a nonpracticing Mormon nbsp The choirs offered sacred selections ranging from ancient chant to English carols to traditional Christmas music

Featured on the cover of Time magazine 50 years ago today was a one-time nbsp associate editor of America magazine you might have heard of nbsp The original portrait of John Courtney Murray S J 1904-1967 by Boris Chaliapin one of Time s regular cover artists now hangs in the lobby of Amer

The Guardian carries news today of the latest WikiLeaks disclosure of US embassy cables -- this time relating to the Vatican The cables which are more than a year old mention the Murphy Commission into Dublin clerical sex abuse the Vatican s help in releasing British hostages in Iran the tech

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders is in his sixth hour of a true filibuster not the fake procedural variety that Republican Senators have used for years to tie up Democratic legislation in a gesture against the tax deal worked out between Republican leaders and President Obama House Democrats turned

Little late on this but I hope you ll check out our multiple features on the legacy of Cardinal Avery Dulles First in the November 29 issue Jeffrey Gros reviewed the new biography of Cardinal Dulles by Patrick W Carey We have also reprinted several articles Cardinal Dulles wrote for America A