The Bill Maher interview of Bishop Morrie you'll never see

Spreading Christ's light

Mary McGlone | Jan. 25, 2014

At first glance, our reading from Isaiah seems to come about a month late. Weren't we just singing with Handel about the people in darkness being caught up in light? Hearing that prophecy during today's liturgy reminds us that that the light, as John says, shone in the darkness that vainly tried to overcome it. Today we remember both the light and the cost and joys of sharing it. Isaiah addressed people forced from their homeland, people whose shared suffering created shared hopelessness, who were figuratively or literally blinded to the possibility of a better future.

Gun violence myths debunked; quest for profits exposed

Dennis McDaniel | Jan. 22, 2014

THE LAST GUN: HOW CHANGES IN THE GUN INDUSTRY ARE KILLING AMERICANS AND WHAT IT WILL TAKE TO STOP IT
By Tom Diaz
Published by The New Press, $26.95

Strength from weakness

Roger Karban | Jan. 18, 2014

It's difficult to understand the original meaning of today's Deutero-Isaiah passage unless we restore the first six verses to the Lectionary selection. Isaiah 49:1-6 is generally referred to as the Second Song of the Suffering Servant of Yahweh. The disciples of the anonymous prophet (Deutero-Isaiah) responsible for Chapters 40-55 of Isaiah not only passed on his powerful oracles, they also included four reflections on what it meant for him to be Yahweh's mouthpiece. The first three are autobiographical; the last, biographical -- composed by his followers after his martyrdom.

Ill-at-ease author meanders in exploration of evil

Timothy Kelly | Jan. 8, 2014

EVIL MEN
By James Dawes
Published by Harvard University Press, $25.95

Give your income equality bubble a pop

Heidi Schlumpf | Jan. 4, 2014

Column: The gap between rich and poor in this country is widening, but it's not just about income. Are you living in a bubble?

Exhortation sparks political, economic debates

Michael Sean Winters | Jan. 3, 2014

Column: Pope Francis' apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium is not a political or economic document, but it has generated debate among politicians and economists.

Editorial: Changing church needs new models

NCR Editorial Staff | Jan. 2, 2014

We say: A shift in demographics, including drops in the number of priests, is changing the face of U.S. Catholicism.

Dynamic California parish shows benefits of an alternative structure

Paul Wilkes | Jan. 2, 2014

Steve Mullin is a layman like only a few hundred others in the American church.

Priest proposes plan to heal criminal justice system

Michael Kelly | Jan. 1, 2014

CAMERADO, I GIVE YOU MY HAND: HOW A POWERFUL LAWYER-TURNED-PRIEST IS CHANGING THE LIVES OF MEN BEHIND BARS
By Maura Poston Zagrans
Published by Image Books, $22