-
Social Justice And Contemplation
Some years ago, Ernst Kasemann, the Scripture scholar, commented that the problem with the church is that, chronically, the liberals aren’t pious and the pious aren’t liberal. If only, he
-
Romero Died Before He Was Killed
On March 24, 1980, Salvadoran Archbishop, Oscar Romero, was assassinated as he celebrated the Eucharist. A recent film, Romero (Paulist Films – Cineplex Odeon), excellently depicts the interplay of forces
-
High Season For Religion Foes
These are tough days for those who believe in the institutional church and in organized religion. Daily our newscasts document incidents of sin, corruption, abused power, misguided fanaticism, and betrayed
-
Soft Peddling The Truth?
Several years ago, during the question period following a talk I had given, I was asked a series of questions about morality, sin, confession, and forgiveness. I began my response
-
Romance Gives Inkling Of Heaven
Recently a Canadian poet, J.S. Porter, published a book of poems under the title, The Thomas Merton Poems (Moonstone Press, 1988). His claim is that these poems Merton might have
-
Pedophilia Raises Hard Questions
This article will, I fear, upset a number of people. Something needs to be said, but, given the levels of hurt, disillusionment, bitterness, anticlerical glee, vicarious over-identification, and just simple
-
Denying Power Of Sex Dangerous
A recent article in the Vancouver Province strongly attacked its province’s government for refusing to provide funding for the distribution of an educational video on sex. The government had refused
-
Yuppie Excellence Lacks Depth
A new word recently entered the English vocabulary – yuppies. The term may not sound very serious, but the reality it connotes and describes is one of the significant social
-
Fear Of Tenderness Stifles Soul
“The person who will not have a softening of the heart will eventually have a softening of the brain!” That warning, issued by G.K. Chesterton more than a half century
-
It’s Easy To Sacrifice Others
“It is better that one man should die for the people.” Why does that line have so haunting a sound? Why does it sound like the refrain of a litany?