They should call it trip or treat, our 4-year-old quips, struggling with the tail of her hand-me-down mermaid costume, while her baby brother trips over his duck costume. More safety pins to the rescue, is my standard trip or treat fix-it. My husband prefers duct tape. I wish all solutions were as

We do not often hear success stories about foreign policy. After the Second World War, the United States did what victorious powers throughout history have rarely done. Rather than vanquishing and humiliating our defeated enemies at war’s end, we worked together to strengthen them and create a

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid (John 14:27). Jesus commissions his disciples with these words at the Last Supper. But what does it mean to be called to be peacebuilders with Christ? Two hundred

When will the United States draw down its troops occupying Iraq? In the political showdown between the president and the Congress over the war in Iraq, attention has focused on legislating a specific timetable for troop withdrawal. This issue will be revisited in September, when debate over war fund

Jesús is a 22-year-old Colombian who was forced from his home by the decades-old civil war. He and others in his village were captured by the paramilitaries in 2005. They were massed into a forced death march. At gunpoint, they were made to dig graves for the dead. Jesús said, I never knew when I

Global warming just got personal. Our neighbor is moving because of global warming. As the world warms, small degrees of temperature change bring changes in the weather. Ice caps melt, seas rise, weather patterns become less predictable, storms become more destructive, and coastal peoples and proper

Today we took our infant son to the doctor for his regular checkup and vaccinations. We do not relish these visits. We gang up on the baby; I restrain my son’s hands, my husband pins his legs, all so the nurse can administer four different vaccine shots. The baby screams, later becomes letharg

As Senator Barack Obama explores a presidential bid, media headlines across the country ask, Is America ready for an African-American president? Between 50 percent and 62 percent of Americans polled answer yes, that race is no longer a barrier in the United States. But that this is considered a news

"Peace on earth is not just a holiday greeting. Every Jan. 1 the pope issues a message for the World Day of Peace, reminding us that peace is practical, peace is possible, and it is our calling. Peace is practical because it is foundational; without it, we cannot achieve other aims. Catholic Relief

Last year as we set up our Nativity set, our then two-year-old daughter asked why so many of the figures were kneeling. Plopping baby Jesus in the manger, she quickly answered her own question, "Oh. To better see God." This year we have a newborn son in our home. And as we raid the rafters