Ten years ago a newly ordained Jesuit assigned to the editorial staff at America published his third book and personal vocation story In Good Company It chronicled his odyssey from a secure and lucrative corporate career in the New York offices of General Electric to life as a Jesuit with vows of

Why was Giordano Bruno burned at the stake?

At a recent viewing of the film ldquo Into Great Silence rdquo I was mesmerized as the camera circled the austere perimeter of a new Carthusian novice rsquo s cell and oratory stripped of any comforts or signs of individuality And then there she was pasted to the wall near a bare cross a sma

Joan of Arc is a saint of perennial appeal, even in postmodern America. At the level of popular culture, Joan’s unlikely story makes for good reading and viewing, not to mention innumerable hagiographic and literary interpretations.

Along with Francis of Assisi Th r se of Lisieux ranks among the most venerated and popular Catholic saints and commands an impressive following that includes those with no religious faith or affiliation Th r se rsquo s life writings and reputation have prompted countless works in print rangi

ldquo You will suffer for this rdquo With that ominous quotation Anita Caspary begins a tragic and potent narrative of the 1967 crisis that led her religious congregation to dissolve its canonical ties with the Vatican and form an independent ecumenical community Older Catholics have vivid mem

In the cold December half-light where I sat with my first cup of coffee, it caught my eye. I was intent on praying myself into a good attitude for a weekend of meetings, and saw outside my window one of many astounding ironies in midtown Manhattan. There, in the middle of a postage-stamp size conven

When was the last time you picked up a long and thorough study by a professional historian that you couldn rsquo t put down Ruth Harris rsquo s new book published to critical acclaim by the academic and literary communities may well do the trick for you It provides an elegantly written intellig