Azerbaijan is a country in the South Caucasus, bordered by Russia and Georgia to the north and by Iran to the south. While never a Catholic country (it has an overwhelmingly Shiite Muslim majority), there was until the mid-1920s a thriving Catholic population of some 2,500, served by several priests, most of them living in…
I’ll never forget my first day of graduate school. It was in the fall of 2007, and I had beeen accepted to Hartford Seminary’s Islamic Studies and Christian-Muslim Relations program. It was familiar territory for me, as I had attended Hartford Seminary for the past two years as an undergraduate to study the Arabic language…
The prayer for the conversion of the Jewish people in the traditional liturgy of Good Friday has been the object of criticism by representatives of the bishops’ conferences of Germany, and of England and Wales. Spokesmen for both these conferences have requested that this prayer be removed from the traditional liturgy and that it be…
The East Coast of the United States is bracing for a possibly “historic snowstorm.” Earlier this month, we observed the 20th anniversary of another historic snowfall — the Blizzard of 1996. The fact that two decades has passed since that unique and memorable event makes me feel incredibly old, but it also brings me back. I remember distinctly…
In many and various ways God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets; but in these last days He has spoken to us by a Son, whom He appointed the heir of all things, through whom also He created the ages. So begins the Letter to the Hebrews. Compared to the knowledge of…
Growing up, I saw a lot of sitcoms. Too many: The Cosby Show, Family Ties, Night Court, Cheers (ok, so I was an NBC guy). One thing you start to realize when you watch these shows is how incredibly formulaic they are: The Teaser, The Trouble, The “Muddle,” The Triumph, and finally The Kicker. Like…
Why does it matter if people convert to Catholicism? Isn’t being Methodist good enough? Is a lapsed Catholic — a part of our religion by baptism — beyond hope? What about a nominal Christian who believes in doing good, even though she rarely darkens the doorstep of a church? And what about all those of other faiths…
And the earth was of one tongue, and of the same speech. And when they removed from the east, they found a plain in the land of Sennaar, and dwelt in it. And each one said to his neighbour: Come, let us make brick, and bake them with fire. And they had brick instead of stones, and…
For Islamic scholars, there is a statement in the apostolic exhortation of Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium, which is particularly troubling: Faced with disconcerting episodes of violent fundamentalism, our respect for true followers of Islam should lead us to avoid hateful generalisations, for authentic Islam and the proper reading of the Koran are opposed to every form…
By now you’ve probably seen the video. Simple text overlaid on sweeping and beautiful natural vistas set to a serene — but determined — instrumental soundtrack. Subtle stylistic choices: the use of lens flare, vintage film effects, and mirroring; the use of just enough motion graphics to make a point without being distracting. Beneath it all,…
