| Cover
story -- Odyssey years |
By
Greg Ruehlmann
Young and restless, tenuously connected to their faith.
Full story
Studies put Millennials under the microscope
By
Greg Ruehlmann
Spanning the late teens to late 20s in age, the Millennials,
America’s newest adult cohort, are inspiring a staggering amount of
discussion and research. Sociologists, cultural commentators and maybe
especially parents are eager to find out who they are, what they believe, and
what on earth they are doing with their lives.
Full story
Many Millennials claim parish membership; few attend
By
Greg Ruehlmann
Given the Millennial generation’s aversion to “benchmark”
commitments of adulthood -- committing to an employer, a city or a spouse -- it
seems likely that they would avoid parish life as well. Yet a solid majority of
Millennials -- 70 percent -- identify themselves as parish members.
Full story
By
John L. Allen Jr.
For most people, Archbishop Piero Marini is a face without a name.
He’s routinely stopped at airports, restaurants and on the street, usually
running into some variant of the same question: “I know I’ve seen you
before. Who are you?”
Full story
Vatican tells missionaries that good works aren't enough
By
Religion News Service
Catholic missionaries should aim to win souls and not
restrict themselves to humanitarian good works, the Vatican said Dec. 14 in a
new 19-page document, which was personally approved by Pope Benedict XVI.
Full story
2007 was a quiet harbinger of change on religious scene
By
Kevin Eckstrom
History books are full of dates that mark seminal events: 1517, when
Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the church door and launched the
Protestant Reformation; or 1973, when the Supreme Court legalized abortion.
Full story
By
Raymond A. Schroth
There’s a story in the 1892 Jesuit review Woodstock Letters
where an older Jesuit tells a younger man who is about to start teaching that
the order’s schools nationwide the previous year were weak because they
had to hire laymen. Now that the faculty are all Jesuits, he says, the secular
schools will be coming to the order for advice.
Full story
In search of exposure
By
Michael Humphrey
Those at the bottom of the presidential pack, overlooked and
undercovered, get their say here, briefly.
Full story
|
Liturgy reform: No going back
When the definitive history of the Second Vatican Council is finally
written, beyond all squabbles over the council’s actual intent, one
undisputed fact will stand -- that taking up the draft for the Constitution on
the Sacred Liturgy as the first focus of debate had a decisive impact on the
tone and direction the council took in all its subsequent deliberations. Though
the discussion was liturgy, the real subject was ecclesiology -- the
church’s understanding of itself.
Full editorial
An odyssey toward meaning
We humans appear to be hard-wired from our time in the Garden of Eden
with a desire to impart labels. Perhaps having run out of flora and fauna to
tag, we’ve turned to naming generations. From the Boomers to the Xers to
the Nexters to the Millennials, we seem, at least in the United States, intent
on creating categories for each new wave of humanity that arrives.
Full editorial
“I can’t modulate God’s will, sweetie.”
-- Joanne Herring (played by Julia Roberts) telling Congressman Charlie
Wilson (played by Tom Hanks) that she cannot tone down her religious fervor as
they plot to arm Afghan mujahedeen against the Soviets in the film
“Charlie Wilson’s War”
More quotes
Peace broker pitches a Tent of Nations
Full story
'Spirit release' is a different kind of therapy
By
Stafford Betty
Secular healers report promising results.
Full story
By
David McReynolds
A different U.S. defeat looms in Iraq.
Full story
Ecumenists confuse winter with spring
The problem with ecumenists -- who are almost universally good-hearted
and dedicated souls -- is that they don't know how to manage expectations. It's
a lesson anyone who has ever organized a public event should have learned: if
you expect 100 people, put out chairs for 75, so the result feels like a
triumph rather than a disappointment.
Full story
Students' spiritual interests increase on campus
By
Religion News Service
Though college students’ attendance at worship services declines,
their interest in spiritual matters grows during their time on campus, a new
UCLA study shows.
Full story
|
FROM THE EDITOR'S DESK
Going back is not an option
Connections sometimes appear in unlikely places; or in this case,
between two unlikely stories. The first story is this week’s cover
feature: “The odyssey years.”
Full story
A writer's enlightening stunt
By
Retta Blaney
Obeying biblical tenets for a year creates a more reverent
agnostic.
Full story
The 10 best films of 2007
By
Joseph Cunneen and Kevin Doherty
Inevitably, some strong end-of-the-year movies will
open after we write this column. But here’s the best of what we saw in 2007 in
the order in which we saw them.
Full story
Gems of the Catholic canon
Reviewed by
Rachelle Linner
Full review
Poetry December 28, 2007
Letters for December 28, 2007
Classifieds for December 28, 2007
News Briefs for December 28, 2007
People for December 28, 2007
Last Words
A memorable quote from this
week's issue.
|
