John Boehner, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, has announced that Pope Francis will address a joint meeting of Congress in September of this year. This historic address will mark the first time a pope has spoken before Congress. What will the pope’s message be? Given Francis’ penchant for speaking directly and… Read More Pope to Address US Congress: Call for an End to the Throwaway Culture
Hillary Clinton will be the heavy favorite to win the Democratic nomination for the presidency in 2016 should she enter the race. And unlike in 2008, she will not have to contend with a once-in-a-generation candidate like Barack Obama, who mixed excellent strategy, soaring speeches, and deep personal appeal to defeat her. The conventional wisdom… Read More Ready for Hillary the Populist?
Kids growing up in California spend their 4th grade history classes learning about the history of their state—from its inception as a Spanish colony to the Bear Flag Revolt to becoming the modern-day 8th largest economy in the world. A major part of the curriculum is devoted to the Spanish Mission system—a system of 21… Read More A Bittersweet Canonization: Junipero Serra and His Mixed Legacy
In theory, the Catholic commitment to human rights should be just that: catholic (universal). We should mourn the Sunni child set on fire at his school by Bashar al-Assad’s forces just as much as the Christian child in Syria executed by Daesh (ISIS). The hundreds of attacks on schools by the Taliban should sicken us… Read More Millennial of the Year 2014: Father Bernard Kinvi
As a Ph.D. candidate in political science, I have been offered the opportunity to teach my own introductory courses. This past semester, I had the pleasure of teaching Introduction to Political Theory; it is a course that I have taught before, but every class is different because the individual students are different. However, one thing… Read More Torture and the Utilitarian Default
After weeks of anticipation, the frenzy of shopping for gifts and making travel arrangements, and all the excitement of the big day, Christmas has once again come and gone. For many, Christmas’s passing is cause for major consternation. Each year, millions of people fall into depression in the weeks following Christmas and New Year’s. It… Read More Why Christmas Matters the Other 364 Days of the Year
This post by Henry Longbottom, SJ is also featured on The Jesuit Post. The word emanating from Vatican corridors is that we can expect to see the long awaited environment-themed encyclical at some point during 2015. The exact date has not been disclosed, but it could coincide with Francis’ apostolic visit to the Philippines in January,… Read More Pope Francis’ Ecology Encyclical: What Can We Expect?
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