I must admit to feeling at once relieved, inspired, and disturbed by news of Osama Bin Laden’s death last night.  I saw the images of crowds celebrating outside the White House, heard some fireworks and sirens joining the celebratory chorus nearby, and watched as a student walked past my window on ... ]]>Thu, 05 May 2011 08:00:00 ESTThe electrifying news that Osama bin Laden has been killed has gripped the attention of our nation and the world, occasioning powerful and conflicting emotions and reactions. It also invites us, as Franciscans, to stand back and reflect prayerfully on what God might be inviting us to in the wake of ... ]]>Thu, 05 May 2011 08:00:00 ESTHow often do you get to listen to another person's prayer? If you're kneeling in church, you're either joining your voice with others, or minding your own silent intercessions. But at our Covenant House in New York City, where we have a chapel with a red carpet and tiny altar in ... ]]>Wed, 13 Apr 2011 08:00:00 EST The following excerpts are taken from Archbishop Martin's address at the Marquette University International Dialogue on the Clergy Sexual Abuse Scandal on April 4, 2011. The entire address can be found here. ]]>Wed, 06 Apr 2011 08:00:00 ESTI work really hard to keep my Irish temper in check, really I do. But there are some things that just make that really hard sometimes. This is one of them. ]]>Fri, 25 Mar 2011 08:00:00 ESTAfter a season that encompassed autumn, a multitude of games, the holidays, a new year, exams, the last days of winter and regionals, college basketball teams are now waiting to learn which teams will make the cut for the 2011 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball tournament. ]]>Fri, 11 Mar 2011 08:00:00 ESTWhy should Catholics care about the Oscars, or, for that matter, movies in general? As a Catholic film critic, it is a question I have been asked. After all, or so the reasoning goes, Hollywood "hates" organized religion—and Catholicism with a particular intensity, right? So why should believers give a hoot ... ]]>Tue, 01 Mar 2011 08:00:00 EST We are outraged by the January 8 murders in Tucson outside a Safeway supermarket of Christina Green, Dorothy Morris, John M. Roll, Phyllis Schneck, Dorwan Stoddard and Gabriel Zimmerman. Gabrielle Giffords, the primary target of the attack and a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, was shot and wounded, along ... ]]>Mon, 28 Feb 2011 08:00:00 ESTLOS ANGELES (CNS)—In speeches the same day, Los Angeles' cardinal and its coadjutor archbishop talked about immigration in the United States, with one calling some of the rhetoric about the issue "not worthy of the Gospel," and the other saying the current system "is an immoral system that thrives upon the ... ]]>Wed, 09 Feb 2011 08:00:00 ESTPORTLAND, Ore. (CNS)—Love or hate their politics, new House Speaker John Boehner, a Republican from Ohio, and Democratic Vice President Joe Biden are products of Catholic education. Both men rose from humble circumstances. ]]>Tue, 25 Jan 2011 08:00:00 ESTOf all the comments—thoughtful and absurd—since the Jan. 8 Arizona shooting spree that left six dead and U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in critical condition with a head wound, two stand out for being the alpha and omega of bringing context to the events. ]]>Mon, 10 Jan 2011 08:00:00 ESTShe was in a rut. As she trudged through the routine, she ticked off the mental litany: Get water, wash dishes, do laundry, cook meal. He was in a rut. He’d learned to think along straight lines: Follow direct paths, don’t deviate from safe assumptions. Then they both got nudged out ... ]]>Fri, 07 Jan 2011 08:00:00 ESTIn the past year, I have heard story after story—in the news, from friends and families and even at my own dinner table—about kids being bullied. It’s rampant. It’s everywhere. As we’ve unfortunately witnessed time and time again, it can be deadly. ]]>Thu, 06 Jan 2011 08:00:00 ESTNew Year's is a time for resolutions, and New York's Catholics will be making them just like everyone else, vowing to lose weight and exercise more, to save money and pay down debt, to spend quality time with family and friends and to learn something new -- like Photoshop or French.
]]>Wed, 05 Jan 2011 08:00:00 ESTThe Church celebrates 40 days of Christmas, ending with the Presentation of the Lord on February 2. This feast recalls the visit of Mary and Joseph to the Temple to give thanks for Jesus’ birth (see Luke 2:22-38). ]]>Tue, 28 Dec 2010 08:00:00 ESTIf Joseph and Mary were alive today, looking for a place where Mary could give birth to Jesus, where could they find solace? After some online and empirical research, I've concluded that it would not be in a stable filled with animals. No, today it would probably be in a storage ... ]]>Wed, 22 Dec 2010 08:00:00 EST“If it bleeds, it leads.” ]]>Tue, 07 Dec 2010 08:00:00 EST"Since the laity ... live in the midst of the world and its concerns, they are called by God to exercise their apostolate in the world like a leaven, with the ardor of the spirit of Christ." ]]>Tue, 07 Dec 2010 08:00:00 ESTOne does not have to be a curmudgeon to pine over the loss of the Christmas season to Madison Avenue, a loss that is now more or less wholesale (pun intended). Set aside the Black Friday insanity that follows Thanksgiving Day, accompanied by now-annual reports of shopping-related injuries of stressed-out consumers. ... ]]>Tue, 07 Dec 2010 08:00:00 ESTWhile New Yorkers can be gratified to see the U.S.C.C.B. presidency make a turn toward the northeast—and we at America can only be delighted that a friend of the House and contributor has been selected to head the conference (best wishes and congrats, Archbishop Tim Dolan)—I can’t help but feel a ... ]]>Tue, 07 Dec 2010 08:00:00 ESTWhatever party or candidate one supported during the recent midterm elections, what is consistently more amazing than any specific outcome is that we continue to transfer power in our democracy without resorting to guns or coups or rigged elections. This is something quite remarkable in the course of human history, and ... ]]>Tue, 23 Nov 2010 08:00:00 ESTCan science and religion ever be compatible? Does every scientific discovery pull us further from the realm of the transcendent? Can we ever welcome a scientific advancement without fearing that it is another blow against our belief in God and our trust that he plays a role in our life? ]]>Mon, 08 Nov 2010 08:00:00 ESTWhat began in September as hope for a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine has fizzled. Palestinians will not negotiate while Israel builds settlements on the West Bank and in East Jerusalem, which in international law are occupied territory; Israel will not extend the “moratorium” on construction, during which Israel continued ... ]]>Mon, 08 Nov 2010 08:00:00 ESTAt our Thanksgiving dinners, sometimes as part of the grace before the meal, we each say what we are especially thankful for right now. This year I will say I am thankful for the removal of combat troops from Iraq. ]]>Wed, 20 Oct 2010 08:00:00 EST