G. K. Chesterton said that one should “never let a quarrel get in the way of a good argument.” He followed his own advice when he had bracing but loving arguments with his brother Cecil, which continued from the time they were children. Nowadays, it is far too easy for an argument over rival ideas… continue reading
Pope Benedict XVI Interprets Vatican Council II: Holy Father Unwittingly Completes Zwick Article on “What Happened To the tremendous Renewal Possibilities After Vatican II?”
April 1, 2006 by
Editors’ Introduction: Unwittingly, Pope Benedict XVI has written the final chapter to our article, “What Happened After Vatican II?” which we published in the March-April 2004 edition of the Houston Catholic Worker. At the time of its publication, long-time Catholic Worker and Catholic Deacon Tom Cornell spoke positively about our description and analysis of the… continue reading
Dorothy Day’s Granddaughters on Canonization
April 1, 2006 by
by Martha Hennessy It is a privilege for my family to be asked to participate in the effort to forward the cause for canonization of Dorothy Day. I hope that our contributions can be understood, in the words of Peter Maurin as part of “the clarification of thought” and that our sentiments will not disqualify… continue reading
New Immigration Bill Shames United States: All Hispanics at Risk
April 1, 2006 by
Hispanics have had their Kristallnacht (the Night of Broken Glass), similar to that which occurred in Germany in November of 1938. It occurred December 16, 2005. The House of Representatives of the government of the United States, with 60 votes to spare, declared that all new immigrants who can’t prove exact legality are criminals and subject… continue reading
Pope Benedict XVI Sets the Themes for his Papacy: Rulers Must Help the Poor; Respect of Persons Prohibits Some Economic Practices; Lectio Divina Will Bring a New Spiritual Springtime
February 1, 2006 by
While waiting for some dramatic theme to come out of the new papacy, many commentators have missed the soft, gentle, but sure voice of Benedict XVI developing a common thread through his presentations in which he proclaims a new vision-a vision that is not really new, but so old it looks like new (cf. Peter… continue reading
House of Representatives Immigration Bill H.R. 4437 Would Destroy People, Families, and the Economy: Write To Your Congress People
February 1, 2006 by
If the new bill passed by the House of Representatives, H. R. 4437, the Border Protection, Anti-Terrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005, becomes law, it would do violence to immigrants and their families, making them criminals for living in the United States. It would also make criminals out of anyone who helps immigrants…. continue reading
Helping the Poor, the Immigrant, the Injured May Be Considered Treason (According to House Bill H. R. 4437)
February 1, 2006 by
We had just returned from visiting our sick men’s houses, where many of our guests live who are greatly disabled and rejected by our society, to read in the Houston Chronicle 12/17/05 that the House of Representatives (not the Senate) had passed a bill that would declare all of these men common criminals and subject… continue reading
Benedict XVI, The Peace Pope
January 1, 2006 by
When, upon his election as Pope in April 2005, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger took the name Benedict XVI, it was hard to ignore the cheering of many influential conservative Catholics. The name, obviously, honored St. Benedict of Nursia—the man who founded European monasticism and sparked Europe’s recovery from barbarism after the collapse of the Roman Empire…. continue reading
A Theory of Personalism (New York: Lexington Books, 2005, by Thomas and Rosita Rourke
December 1, 2005 by
It is refreshing to read a text that engages the political, socio-economic world from the standpoint of Catholic spiritual-ity yet does not focus exclusively on the issues of abortion, euthanasia, stem-cell research, and homosexuality, nor strives to wed faith with free market economics. Like a brisk wind, Thomas and Rosita Chazarreta Rourke’s A Theory of Personalism… continue reading
The Magi Changed Ideas of Power: Kneeling Before the Child of Poor People, They Discovered God
December 1, 2005 by
In our pilgrimage with the mysterious Magi from the East, we have arrived at the moment which Saint Matthew describes in his Gospel with these words: “Going into the house (over which the star had halted), they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshipped him” (Mt 2:11). Outwardly, their… continue reading
