As the general election takes shape the leading issues have emerged the economy the Iraq War ethics reform global warming A news story may temporarily thrust a new item onto the list but in poll after poll these are the issues that people care about In fact it is an old bit of wisdom that

Why should a Catholic priest avoid preaching about political issues--Republican Democrat or otherwise--in a homily See what you think about one answer at Beliefnet Hint It s got something to do with whose word he s preaching or rather whose Word James Martin SJ

Here s a smart piece by two of the smartest Catholic scholars in this country David O Brien the church historian at Holy Cross College in Worcester Mass and Lisa Sowle Cahill the moral theology professor at Boston College writing on the policy of denying Communion to certain politicians

John McCain has had a four months long head start on unifying the Republican Party around his candidacy but signs remain that the GOP is fractured or unenthusiastic about his bid for the White House Barack Obama has had less than a week to unify the Democrats and the early signs are that the wo

Here at the annual convention of the Catholic Theological Society of America this weekend the theme has been Generations For me it has been an exhilarating weekend of hearing much theology renewing many friendships and again allowing gratitude for my colleagues and our shared vocation to make

In November 2006 in our Of Many Things column I wrote a short column on the remarkable success of Uwem Akpan a Nigerian Jesuit and astonishingly gifted writer who had been included in The New Yorker s Debut Fiction issue in the summer of 2005 Part of my delight in Uwem s success was