Commentaries
Modern miracles among us
For most of us, giving is a season, and what we contribute comes from our abundance. However, there are special persons like Margaret Domashinski who give of the very substance of their lives.
Drop in abortions is Pa. prompts a dignified response
Amy Hill writes that the 32,108 abortions in 2013 is the lowest number on record in the state. That’s good news, but we have a long way to go toward fully valuing human dignity.
The Francis effect in Cuba: What popes are supposed to do
Father Gus Puleo sees the actions of Pope Francis in the U.S.-Cuba diplomatic breakthrough as those of a bridge builder, the literal meaning of the word pontiff.
A pet’s death forces us to face our mortality
Effie Caldarola's pet golden retriever, Sunny, died after a long life. That made the writer ponder the mystery of human death, and the hope that dead loved ones fall into "the arms of a merciful God."
Heading out for an encounter with God
When Christ is "let out" to heal the world, young people might return from the outskirts to the church. Father William Byron assumes they will find a welcome in our parishes.
The cry of the comfortable
As Effie Caldarola drank the coffee she bought and ate a warm cinnamon bagel she was provided, she couldn't shake the memory of the homeless beggar she'd seen moments earlier -- and how she turned her head away
Volunteering as a two-way street of help
Karen Osborne knows teenagers are enthusiastic, creative, have a lot of energy and free time. She advises them to use these resources for their communities, for the good of all.
Give the gift of presence this Christmas
Sister Constance Veit suggests 6 practical ways we can spend time with elderly loved ones and neighbors, for a gift that means more than presents.
Police work isn’t war, and our citizens aren’t the enemy
in a world where we treat policing as war, race combined with youth and social class, maybe dress and attitude, can be the way police identify the enemy, writes John Garvey. Just as combatants in war are fair game, cops may be quicker to draw and fire.
Admit it: We used torture, and we sinned
Call it an "enhanced interrogation technique" if you will, but there is no getting around the fact that the sin of torture is on the American conscience now, writes Father WIlliam Byron. The least we can do is name it and admit it.