Colman McCarthy directs the Center for Teaching Peace, a Washington non-profit.
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Colman McCarthy
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Column
When Thomas Merton called me 'utterly stupid'
I had a glimpse of Thomas Merton's "open heart" when I was researching an article for NCR that would run on Dec. 13, 1967. Not long after my piece ran, Merton let his dislike be known.
Column
Act like a saint, become a vegetarian
More than 150 canonized women and men were vegetarians. Given that animal agriculture is the second largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and a leading cause of deforestation, pollution and biodiversity loss, it's time to emulate them.
Column
Pope Francis has unshackled the church from the death penalty
Tepid on capital punishment when he spoke before U.S. Congress in 2015, Francis has now separated himself from the wafflers. Will his stand against executions reach parish pulpits?
Book Review
Judges discover strength in pivotal decisions
Book Review: The tough cases, the editors write, involve "the rare times in a judicial career when a judge has to wrestle with a problem so complex, or so emotionally draining, as to test the fortitude and impartiality of even the most competent and experience jurists."