America Magazine - In All Things

Jesus was a community organizer, Pilate a governor

Author: Austen Ivereigh;

Or so it is claimed by T-shirts printed off this week in the wake of the Republican VP nominee's put-down of Barack Obama's former profession in her speech last Wednesday.

Is this a new front in America's faith-culture wars?

It seems odd for a party seeking the God vote to diss one of the great American democratic traditions -- and particularly one which serves as a vehicle for churches to engage in grassroots public life.

The term "community organizer" was referred to sneeringly at the gOP convention. The Republican Party strategists clearly think this is a winning line of attack.

A small-town mayor, said Sarah Palin of herself, is "sort of

Uncaged Spirits

Author: Valerie Schultz; I spent my Saturday with twelve men in cages. It's hard to imagine that in the United States, we put inmates in cages, but in the Secured Housing Unit of the prison where I volunteer, we do. In the SHU, inmates who are privileged to attend Catholic services are escorted from their housing to individual cages by two guards each. They are released from their handcuffs through a small food tray opening only after they are locked into the cage. Then the food tray is locked. The Eucharist is slipped through the slits in the grid of the cage. The sign of peace is merely a hand rested against the metal screen. No physical contact is allowed. On this special Saturday, the inmates were permitt

Medjugorje Spiritual Director Sanctioned by Vatican

Author: James Martin, S.J.;

Here's a stunning development, reported by Catholic News Service, about the popular Marian shrine at Medjugorje, in Bosnia-Herzegovina, which demonstrates the Vatican's continued reluctance about the site. The sanctions are about as severe as can be leveled against a priest, short of dismissal from the clerical state or excommunication, which has now been threatened. It is rare to have someone so closely linked with such a popular movement disciplined so severely and so publicly. The Vatican, and some local bishops, have always evinced deep suspicion about some as

Convention Recap Podcast

Author: Tim Reidy;

Evans and Novak. Brooks and Shields. Now we have Winters and Malone.

Listen to "In All Things" blogger Michael Sean Winters and America associate editor Matt Malone, S.J. discuss the two party conventions on our special election 2008 podcast.

This is the first of a series of podcasts on the election that will also be available on America's new election blog. The blog is designed for students and teachers at Catholic schools looking for a unique, interactive way to follow the elec

Rudy and the Barracuda

Author: Regina Nigro;

Amid a chorus of hoots, hollers and the occasional jeer, Rudy Giuliani gave the keynote speech on Wednesday night, Day 3 of the Republican National Convention. Giuliani set the tone for the evening, aggressively launching criticisms at the Democratic ticket. Giuliani's claims ranged from the slightly offensive (derisively laughing at Barack Obama's roots as a community organizer -- in a city, Chicago, that has roughly 1,800 times the population of Wasilla, AK, the city where Sarah Palin served as mayor) to the unbelievable (asserting that Palin has more experience than Barack Obama and Joseph Biden combined). Giuliani's incredulous "What??" at Obama's background was met with a round of ca