CNA Columns
Witnessing in Jerusalem: A loving tribute to Sister Anastas Sarsar
May 2014 was a bittersweet month in Jerusalem. Anastasia, one of my three sisters, passed away unexpectedly on the 8th,... Read more
Vacation as Pilgrimage?
Today, more and more people are using vacation time to go on a pilgrimage. A pilgrimage is a journey to... Read more
Bill Maher and not understanding either faith or the Bible
I don’t know what possesses me to watch “Real Time With Bill Maher,” for Maher is, without a doubt, the... Read more
The church attendence decline and what to do about it
Forty years ago, as the falloff in Sunday Mass attendance by American Catholics was becoming too obvious to ignore, Catholic... Read more
Need a key to the Trinity? Start with Jesus
The Trinity is a mystery. (Popular translation: The Trinity is a complicated, inexplicable – and not particularly exciting or spiritually... Read more
A tribute to fathers and to the Triune God
This year, Father’s Day and the feast of the Most Holy Trinity fall on the same day. First, some thoughts... Read more
The Gift of a Lifetime
In the court of justice, lawyers mediate, advocate, and plead for their clients. They stand with and for them. An... Read more
Cardinal Kasper, Continued
The effort by Cardinal Walter Kasper to change the Church’s discipline regarding the inadmissibility of divorced and remarried Catholics to... Read more
Crisis in the news business
It was a week that began with the management of The New York Times forcing out the paper’s executive editor... Read more
Reflections on Catholic education
In the 1986 film, “Hannah’s Sisters,” Woody Allen, its producer and director, also plays the role of Mickey who bemoans... Read more
One day, two celebrations
Next Monday, Americans celebrate Memorial Day, and the Church celebrates the feast of St. Philip Neri. One event is secular,... Read more
Oh, to be a saint!
“I’m not a saint!” is perhaps one of my most frequent utterances, along with more forceful expressions such as “No!”,... Read more
The danger of soft atheism
A very instructive exchange between Gary Gutting, a philosophy professor at Notre Dame, and Philip Kitcher, a philosophy professor at... Read more
Our spontaneous Pope
Spontaneity that reflects good-heartedness is a highly attractive trait, but the spontaneity of self-indulgence is reckless and often cruel. Spontaneity... Read more
A codicil to the whole 'black mass' brouhaha at Harvard
I don't know how many of you are familiar with the story regarding the proposed staging of a black mass... Read more
Save Our Children!
During the World War II era, it was not uncommon to hear in the movies: “life is cheap.” Nothing much... Read more
Mother Monica, Saint of all Nags
As mothers, sainthood is often promised to us by people who don’t know the half of it. Do they know... Read more
'You Are Littler' – My encounters with a Saint
Pope John Paul II affected millions of people during his papacy. He connected with youth in the most amazing manner... Read more
Our moral obligation to vote
Catholic education played a vital role in the founding of our nation. Among the signers of the Declaration of Independence... Read more
Multicultural ministry needs a new perspective
One of the most pressing challenges facing the Catholic Church in the U.S. today is the necessity of more adequate... Read more
