by George Weigel Each issue of the admirable ecumenical journal, Touchstone, includes a department called “The Suffering Church.” It’s a title that Catholics of a certain age associate with purgatory; in Touchstone’s vocabulary, however, “the Church suffering” is the Church being purified here and now by persecution. It’s a useful reminder of a hard fact. […]
by Karen Dietlein Osborne Let’s be clear: People are not things. In general, things are to be used. You use a fork to eat. You use a cellphone to call your mother. You use a bus to get from Point A to Point B. Everyone uses things – computers, cars, restaurants, shoes. And I think […]
by Stephen Kent Ten U.S. presidents, six popes and several wars have come, and some gone, since we first met. Our most recent gathering marked the 50th anniversary of our graduation from what had been a small, all-male Jesuit university. There were the introductory social events at which we, from under balding heads and behind […]
by George Weigel The Council of the District of Columbia is considering a bill, sponsored by its most aggressively activist gay member, to legalize surrogate child-bearing in your nation’s capital. Infertility is a heart-rending problem. But solving that problem is not what’s at issue here, for the D.C. surrogacy bill is being pushed by the […]
by Carolyn Woo Given my work in business education and particularly my last role as the dean of the business school in a Catholic university, I am often asked whether work in the business sector can be a vocation. The answer is simply, “Of course!” Business is a necessary good, not a necessary evil. As […]
by Father William J. Byron, S.J. The expression “bumper-to-bumper” is often used to describe a traffic tie-up, a slow-moving stream of cars on a beltway or highway. Sometimes the expression is used to describe automobile repair services that can take care of any problem between the front and back bumpers of any car. Recently, my […]
by George Weigel I doubt that Pope Francis has heard of Ernie Banks, the Hall of Fame shortstop. But like “Mr. Cub,” whose love for baseball led him to exclaim “Let’s play two!” before Sunday doubleheaders in the 1950s, the pope from the end of the world seems to think that papal canonizations are better […]
by Father Tadeusz Pacholczyk Private foundations and non-profit groups are frequently involved in advocating for particular causes, ranging from cancer research to protecting the environment. Some of these foundations rely almost exclusively on charitable donations to carry out their promotional work. Potential donors seeking to support these causes face the challenge of exercising “due diligence,” […]
by George Weigel From his present location in the communion of saints, Father John Courtney Murray, S.J., who died in 1967, is probably indifferent to the various ways his work on Catholicism and American democracy is misconstrued in the 21st century. But those who think that Father Murray still has something to teach Catholics about […]
by Erick Rommel WHEN YOU’RE IN SCHOOL, playing hooky is frowned upon. The same is true as an adult, but adults have something students in school do not. We have vacation time. It’s because of that wonderful “get out of work free” card that my wife and I found ourselves relaxing on the beach Sept. […]
