Special guest blogger Stephanie Ratcliffe the magazine s design and production coordinator--who is responsible for physically laying out the magazine--is also a talented artist in her own right A few weeks ago we featured on our cover her delightful image of our Founding Editor John Wynne

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

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

On Friday May 30 three America editors including Drew Christiansen S J the editor-in-chief traveled to the Rose Hill campus of Fordham University in New York City to present to Avery Cardinal Dulles S J a long-time contributor to the magazine a small token of the editors appreciati

Well farewell for a week that is This week I ll be embarking on a blog tour to talk about the saints and discuss my book My Life with the Saints What s a blog tour That s what I asked when my publisher first suggested it Essentially you visit or write for a series of bl

Although the official America review will not be out for a few weeks I wanted to without treading upon the reviewer s field recommend Ron Hansen s new book Exiles It s a masterfully told novel or fiction based on fact that toggles between the Jesuit poet Gerard Manley Hopkins

Yes I know I write a lot about Lourdes That s one of the hazards of being moved by something like a pilgrimage or a retreat experience But here s something new While the Order of Malta was on pilgrimage this year a few of the members of the Order followed our group around for the week a

These two stories are particularly interesting when taken together In the first dated May 17 here Tarcisio Cardinal Bertone the Vatican s Secretary of State reaffirms the church s ban on ordaining gay men whether in the diocesan world or in religious orders The Vatican was respondin

The Anchoress has an honest piece on how one goes about praying for someone--even if one is not initially inclined to It s no secret that for every Catholic fan of Senator Ted Kennedy and I am an enormous admirer of this remarkable man though I don t agree with him on everything there is