On January 25 Rowan Williams, the archbishop of Canterbury, accepted the 2009 Campion Award from the editors of America. A renowned scholar, theologian, ecumenist, pastor, professor and poet, Archbishop Williams is the author of more than a score of books. In his remarks upon accepting award, he dilated on the idea of a “martyrial ecumenism,” mused on the surprising links between Shakespeare and St. Edmund Campion and emphasized the central place of forgiveness in all relationships. Drew Christiansen, S.J, the editor in chief of America, introduced the archbishop, and literary editor Patricia A. Kossmann presented Williams with the award.
The Campion award is given on a regular basis to a notable Christian person of letters. It is named after St. Edmund Campion, S.J., an English writer and martyr who is honored in both the Anglican and Catholic traditions. For more coverage of this year’s award ceremony visit our Campion Web page.
Every year Fordham University brings together Catholic and Jewish leaders to engage in dialogue at the Nostra Aetate lecture. The dialogues are inspired by the Vatican II document that addresses the church’s relations with non-Christian religions. This year, newly installed Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan of New York sat down with Arnold M. Eisen, the chancellor of Jewish Theological Seminary. They discussed the pressing issues facing both faiths, notably the diminishment of religious practice among the young. Archbishop Dolan’s remarks are reprinted in the Feb. 1-8 issue of America under the title“A Shared Path.”
Catholic Relief Services has been providing aid to Haiti since 1954 and had 300 workers in the country when the earthquake hit on January 12. John Rivera, the director of communications for CRS, gives an update on the agency’s relief efforts, and explains how CRS is working with the U.S. government and faith-based aid agencies to deliver food where it is needed. Donate to CRS here.
Ever since President Obama named Reinhold Niebuhr as his favorite philosopher, this mid-20th century public intellectual has been much invoked by pundits and columnists, especially in relation to the president’s Nobel acceptance speech defending war as a tool for building peace. Here Drew Christiansen, S.J., argues that a closer examination of Niebuhr’s entire career reveals not just a foreign policy realist but a skeptical critic of American exceptionalism. Fr. Christiansen recommends thesebooks for a fuller understanding of Niebuhr’s career, as well as a biography of Niebuhr by Richard Wightman Fox. To read the article by David Cortright mentioned during the podcast, click here.
Thoma Massaro, S.J., a respected social ethicist at Boston College, reviews Michael Sandel’s PBS series, “Justice: What’s the Right Thing To Do?” based on the Harvard professor’s popular course. The 12 episode series can be viewed online at www.justiceharvard.org”. Read Father Massaro’s written review of the show here.
As the country heads into the second Christmas since the economic downturn, Rev. Larry Snyder, the president of Catholic Charities, describes the needs his organization is encountering around the country. In shelters and food pantries, the organization is seeing a dramatic increase in demand. Father Snyder also discusses the recent controversy in Washington, D.C., concerning the relationship between the city and Catholic Charities, and recounts some of the history of the 100-year old agency.
An interview with Rev. Michael G. Ryan, a priest from the Archdiocese of Seattle who is calling for a grass-roots review of the new Roman Missal. Read his article in the December 14 issue of America, “Why Don’t We Say, ‘Wait?’”
Amy Uelmen, director of the Fordham Law School Institute on Religion, Law & Lawyer’s Work, discusses the Focolare movement as it relates to the economy, justice and Pope Benedict XVI’s latest encyclical, “Caritas in Veritate.”
Jesuit priest Uwem Akpan published his first short story in the New Yorker in 2005 and his writing career has blossomed from there. His short story collection, Say You’re One of Them, is the most recent selection of Oprah Winfrey’s Book Club, and Father Akpan appeared with Ms. Winfrey on a live Webcast earlier this month. In an interview with America, Father Akpan describes how the Ignatian tradition has helped nurture his writing and why he decided to tell his stories from a child’s point of view.
Doris Gottemoeller, R.S.M., past president of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, offers four recommendations for the Vatican visitation of women religious, and reflects on the opportunities and limitations such a process entails.
