August 2011

Cover

Labor pains

By Kristen Hannum
Support for working people has long been a rallying cry of Catholic social teaching. So why did the Catholic response to the Dairy State union battle make so little noise?

Sidebar:

Rerum roots: A brief history of American Catholic support for unions

Interview

In the (Middle) Kingdom of God

An interview with Father Francisco Carin
If you think being Catholic in America is hard, try negotiating the church-state minefield in the People’s Republic of China.

Feature

Born-again Catholics

By J. Peter Nixon
While the Catholic lives of most faithful start in the cradle, some find their way to Rome long after having made their way to Christ.

Sidebar:

Just what is an “evangelical” anyway?

Sounding Board

And lead us not into temper tantrums

By Heidi Schlumpf
What’s that smell? Sorry, that’s my toddler, writes this mom rushing to change a diaper. Would you give her a hand instead of making a face? In Feedback readers take a stab at the best way to welcome a parish’s youngest members.

Essays

(Some essays, short stories, and poems are not available online.)

Wise Guide: Mother to the masses

By Joan Sauro, C.S.J.
Mother Francesca Xavier Cabrini ran a missionary empire on spare change.

On the road

By Frank Cunningham
Walking the Camino to Santiago de Compostela in Spain is filled with prayerful silence, but the absence of the church’s ministry to pilgrims leaves a silent void.

Guilt trip down memory lane

Departments

Editors’ Note

You May Be Right (Letters to the Editor)

Signs of the Times (News)

Catholic Tastes (Humor)

Culture in Context: Music, film, and book reviews

At Home with Our Faith  (Family spirituality)

Eye of the Beholder (Art meditation)

Glad You Asked: Why isn’t transubstantiation in the creed?

Columns

The Examined Life: The buck stops where?
By Bryan Cones

Margin Notes: Leave no trace?
By Kevin Clarke

Culture in Context: Super humans
By Patrick McCormick

Testaments: Step by step
By Alice Camille