By
Kathy Gilsinan
Slow Food movement champions 'good, clear, fair' food.
Full story
By
Kathy Gilsinan
The U.S. headquarters of Slow Food, Slow Food USA, opened in New York in
2000 -- but local convivia had been popping up in the United States as early as
1991, as enterprising foodies stumbled upon the philosophy and transplanted it
here.
Full story
By
Kathy Gilsinan
The feel-good idea of expressing human love with food -- one central to
Slow Food’s mission -- also turns out to be helpful for fundraising
purposes. When Katrina ravaged New Orleans’ vibrant food communities in
2005, a small committee at Slow Food USA, led by New Orleans convivium leader
Poppy Tooker, sprang into action and launched the Terra Madre Relief Fund to
disburse grants to affected food producers.
Full story
By
Laura Lloyd
If you want to get the lowdown on bottled water,
listen to what the “Green Franciscan Sister” has to say. She is Sr. Janet
Corcoran, vice president of mission service at Marian Medical Center in Santa
Maria, Calif., and she is just one of the Catholic voices spreading the gospel
that bottled water, however convenient to tote around, is environmentally,
economically and politically wrong.
Full story
By
Laura Lloyd
If, for the practically minded, it is hard to understand the allure of
paying for something that is often is nearly free (and often higher quality) at
home, well, that’s where perception comes in. Lured by corporate marketing
and packaging, Americans have learned to like bottled water’s aura of
status and safety, combined with the ever-popular element of convenience.
Full story
Study: What brought people to church may not keep them there
By
Religion News Service
Willow Creek Community Church, the suburban Chicago megachurch that has
become a model for some of the nation’s largest churches, started more
than a quarter-century ago by asking the question: Why don’t people go to
church?
Full story
Mepkin monks to leave chicken business
By
Patrick O'Neill
Tired from a 10-month battle with an animal rights group, Trappist monks
from South Carolina’s Mepkin Abbey have decided to phase out their
egg-production operation by mid-2009. Abbott Fr. Stan Gumula announced the
decision in a media statement distributed in December.
Full story
By
David Briggs
Middle Eastern music plays softly as the dancers gracefully raise their
hands from their sides and lift them high, ending with their palms together
above their heads.
Full story
Advances don't quell stem-cell debate
By
Michael Humphrey
If headlines turn out to be prophetic, Nov. 20, 2007, was a historic day
in the decade-long ethical debate over embryonic stem-cell research.
“Scientists Bypass Need for Embryo to Get Stem Cells,” reads The
New York Times. “Major leap for stem cells,” the Chicago
Tribune added. “Advance May End Stem Cell Debate,” chimed The
Washington Post.
Full story
Archdiocese funds adult stem-cell research
By
Catholic News Service
Cardinal George Pell of Sydney has announced that
his archdiocese will be awarding $86,000 to support adult stem-cell research by
an Adelaide-based research team.
Full story
Catholic efforts bolster U.N. resolution
By
John L. Allen Jr.
Vote favors death penalty moratorium.
Full story
Prayer cures a Briton's legs, but not a bureaucracy
By
Religion News Service
A British pastor’s wife who claims the power of prayer
cured her injuries was told her disability benefits could not be stopped
because the government’s computers didn’t have a “miracle”
button.
Full story
Brazil approaches 'mass consumer market' goal
By
Mario Osava
The Brazilian economy is finally coming close to the dream of creating the
“broad mass consumer market” announced in 2002 as a campaign promise by
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. But several hurdles still lie ahead.
Full story
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Death penalty opposition grows
Jonathan Hoffman, convicted in a shooting death in North Carolina in
1995, earned a new trial in 2004 and then had all charges against him dropped
in December 2007 when prosecutors ruled they didn’t have enough evidence
against him. That decision was made, in part, when the prosecution’s
former star witness recanted his testimony and admitted that he had lied to
retaliate against the defendant.
Full editorial
“I’ve been going as far as listening to NPR on my way
home.”
-- Drew Appelbaum, 25, telling Newsday that he felt
“lost” while satirical, spoof news programs “The Daily
Show” and “The Colbert Report” were in repeats due to the TV
writers’ strike
More quotes
Privatizing Zionism
By
Neve Gordon and Erez Tzfadia
Israel hires private firms to destroy homes and seize land.
Full story
By
Rich Heffern
At their annual national gathering of the U.S. Green Party last summer
in Reading, Pa., party leader John Rensenbrink gave a speech in which he
outlined how the Greens were positioning themselves for the 2008 election and
beyond.
Full story
By
Andrew Lam
Scandal and the Zeitgeist rob teachers of the respect they once
commanded.
Full story
By
Chris Herlinger
Winter is upon Afghanistan, which means people are trying to stave off
the bitter cold. But in a cruel and, some would say, characteristic Afghan irony,
winter’s harshness may bring a few months of calm and reprieve from what
has been a difficult, tense year of violence, bombings and renewed
international concerns about this tough, war-battered but still profoundly
beautiful country.
Full story
By
NCR Staff
“The Kite Runner,” based on the best-selling novel of the same
name by Afghan-American writer Khaled Hosseini, illuminates ethnic tensions,
political turmoil and Taliban repression in Afghanistan through the story of
boyhood friendship and betrayal. Its title derives from one of the
country’s favorite cultural traditions: a competitive sport involving
kites.
Full story
Church continues battle for the family in Spain
By
Wire Services
A mass rally in support of traditional families that featured a live
satellite-television broadcast from Pope Benedict XVI has been harshly
criticized by Spain’s ruling Socialist Party as promoting undemocratic
values.
Full story
Top 10 neglected Vatican stories of 2007
By
John L. Allen Jr.
Every society has its shorthand ways of signaling what it considers
important. At the level of pop culture, Americans know something registers when
David Letterman or Jon Stewart pokes fun at it; more seriously, however, we
grasp that something matters if it lands on the front page of The New York
Times.
Full story
By
NCR Correspondent
In crisis-torn Zimbabwe, the new year offers few signs of hope for a
better future for millions here battling continued hardships as the nation
approaches crucial polls.
Full story
Trying time for women in South Africa's ruling party
By
Stephanie Nieuwoudt
The past weeks have been tumultuous for women in South Africa’s
ruling African National Congress. On one hand, they end the year with a key gain: The party approved a
mandate that 50 percent of posts in its decision-making structures be held by
women -- albeit with an exception made for the top six positions in the
86-member National Executive Committee, which includes just two women: Baleka
Mbete, chairwoman, and Thandi Modise, deputy secretary-general. Previously,
representation of women was set at a third of posts.
Full story |
FROM THE EDITOR'S DESK
The eucharistic banquet
As I reflected on this week’s column, I could only smile as I
reviewed our cover story concerning food. Eating (or rather too much of it) is
probably the last thing on most people’s minds as we emerge from the
holiday celebrations. If only we could control our appetites and avoid the
spread in more ways than one.
Full story
By
Margot Patterson
Memoirist Patricia Hampl talks about the quest literature of our
time.
Full story
By
Kathy Kelly
'Make-believe picture' of justice, kindness may yet be made
real.
Full story
Redemption in the blink of an eye
By
Kevin Doherty and
Joseph Cunneen
'The Diving Bell and the Butterfly' is compelling true-life drama;
'The Kite Runner' and 'The Water Horse are moving stories of childhood.
Full story
Helpful books for faith development
Reviewed by
Rich Heffern
Full review
Poetry January 11, 2008
Letters for January 11, 2008
Classifieds for January 11, 2008
News Briefs for January 11, 2008
People for January 11, 2008
Last Words
A memorable quote from this
week's issue.
Correction
An article on Roman Catholic Womenpriests in the Dec. 7 issue of
NCR gave an incorrect date for a Vatican decree excommunicating the
“Danube Seven,” the first seven women ordained by the organization.
The Vatican issued a declaration on July 10, 2002, giving the women until July
22 (the feast of St. Mary Magdalene) to repent or be excommunicated. A formal
decree of excommunication was issued Aug. 5, 2002. The women have appealed the
ruling, so far to no avail. |
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