Prayers for the PopeWith grace, courage and humility, Pope Benedict retired from the most difficult job in the world. In our Pope Francis, we already see similar grace and courage—and the humility to descend from his vehicle, on the way to his inaugural Mass at Saint Peter’s, to embrace

America’s editorial “Repeal the Second Amendment," in the issue of Feb. 25, evoked considerable reader response. Some comments were published in the issue of April 8-15. Here are more.Unintended ConsequencesWith all the gun rhetoric out there, both pro and con, including your propos

Repeal the Second Amendment,” America’s editorial published on the Web on Feb. 16, just a few days after Pope Benedict XVI announced his resignation, evoked a comment by Theresa Johnson at episcopalcafe.com the next day. She asked God to “bless these Roman Catholics for taking such

Concealed BeliefsAs Catholic lawyers who have filed dozens of civil rights cases, including some under the Voting Rights Act in Texas, we were disappointed in Of Many Things, by Matt Malone, S.J. (2/25), especially given Justice Antonin Scalia’s comments two days later in the Shelby County, Al

Dad’s Retirement“Getting to Work,” by Patricia Ranft (2/18), provided an informative view of the theology of work and the legacy of Catholic theology on labor. But her attempt to apply this legacy to the 21st-century United States sounded like a Paul Ryan campaign rant.What was she

Remember MaryknollIn “Statements in Stone” (2/18), James T. Keane writes about church-related buildings built pre-1965, and then the less ornate built after the Second Vatican Council. We always thought that one of the outcomes of Vatican II was that the church hierarchy was required to