March, 2013 Life, unplugged: Richard Rohr on finding God in the depths of silence. ...

The papacy of Benedict XVI came to a quiet end at 8 p.m. on Thursday, making him the first pope in 600 years to voluntarily leave office. VATICAN CITY — The papacy of Benedict XVI ...

This past year, I’ve been working out of my house, something like a stay-at-home dad, what with the after-school hours and school holidays and such. ... What I have discovered, in all this mess, is that I am a ...

The House Judiciary Committee holds a hearing on drone policy. The House Judiciary Committee yesterday held one of the first public hearings on U.S. drone strikes, with Democrat ...

February 27, 2013 Sojo in the News Anthony Bradley ...

British terror suspects stripped of citizenship, then killed by drones. While the U.S. continues to debate whether the president has legal authority to order the drone killing o ...

We’re approaching the 10th anniversary of the invasion of Iraq — an appropriate time to reflect upon the antiwar ferment that gripped the globe at that time. We’re approaching t ...

You won’t find many Catholic churches named after Pope Benedict IX. You won’t find many Catholic churches named after Pope Benedict IX. Benedict IX squandered the papacy’s ...

Current events, like much about our lives, frequently leave us hopeless, fearful, and uncertain. Religious faith isn’t a matter of wishing away these experiences; it involves perceiving God in the midst of our ...

The bubble I see bursting is establishment Christianity in America. It is bursting ever so slowly, even as millions of people still find life, meaning, safety, and structure inside. ...

Opposition to gun control is about defending the gun market more than the Second Amendment. Mary Sanchez, op-ed writer for the Kansas City Star , offers in her column ...

“Stepping into community is far riskier than expected. It’s far worse than you expect it to be. But in the end, it’s far better than you could ever imagine.” I’ve been asked sev ...

The excuse of national security is being used to eliminate a basic foundation of democracy: transparency. If evidence used to convict a person is secret, if the accused cannot openly challenge the charges bein ...

To the accusation that a nonviolent Jesus is a projection of my own wussy imagination: That is false and, in fact, the reverse is true – a violent Jesus is a god made in our own image. ...

If you read the text as a propositional description of God, it can be a rather disturbing image as God keens agonizingly one minute, and rages menacingly the next. It is almost a frightening glimpse of someon ...

It’s hard to over-emphasize the importance of honesty with God in our prayers. Stifling that honesty in ourselves or in our children by demanding that he or she pray for world peace instead of an awesome Chris ...

Cardinal Keith O’Brien of Scotland resigned on Monday in the wake of explosive charges that he had made “inappropriate” sexual advances to four men, three of them priests, and one now a former seminarian, star ...

Former White House press secretary was told not to acknowledge drone program existed. Yesterday on MSNBC’s Up w/ Chris Hayes , former White House Press Secretary Robert G ...

U.S. troops are in Niger to support a new drone base. With a short note  to the Congressional leadership, President Barack Obama announced last week that a total of 100 U ...

I love Peter Rollins' honesty about his dark night of the soul. He's popularized a term for the intellectual position accompanying the dark night of the soul: a/theism. I interpret Peter's thoug ...

What if we, as a Lenten discipline, make a commitment to give up the fear of failure — for such fears are too often personally devastating and publicly debilitating if left ignored or unresolved? ...

On Saturday, Feb. 23, Bradley Manning marks his 1,000th day in prison without a trial. Manning, the 23 year-old Army intelligence analyst accused of leaking classified documents to WikiLeaks while stationed in ...

Violence against women at protests is at a chronic level due to security breakdowns and mass protests that are not policed. Violence against women at protests is at a chronic le ...

So you’ve heard the flu shot is somewhat ineffective this year, and, though you have a normal immune system, you don't want to take the Eucharist from a common chalice. Part of me kind of wants to slap yo ...

President Barack Obama will be visiting Israel and Palestine in March. I call on you to write to Obama and tell him that if he is coming to engage Israelis and Palestinians in talks that will lead to a just pe ...

The Gospel is public truth, available to everyone, that reveals to all flesh who it is who rules all things by love, who holds all things in the grip of grace, who is making all things new by Christ's res ...

efforts to defeat the Confederates. On Dec. 17, 1862, Grant issued General Order No. 11. “The Jews,” ...

This week, in the run-up to Sunday's Academy Awards ceremony, we've been taking a look at each of the Best Picture nominees, the stories they tell, and the spiritual questions (and answers) they offe ...

Many young people enlist in the armed forces without understanding what they’re getting into. My county is rural and poor; jobs are scarce. Many students who lack money or grades to make college a viable optio ...

This world. It’s so beautiful. And every day, we have the opportunity to relish it. How many days are spent checking off to-do-list items on the backs of receipts? Why do we think we’re so busy all the time? W ...

Our friends and up-and-coming musicians Branches trekked all the way from California and stopped by our office in D.C. last week to play a couple of their songs during their East Coast tour! ...

February 20, 2013 Sojo in the News Jamie Sanderson ...

In Old Testament scripture, the resting place for the dead is called Sheol. While some believe this is the same as hell, there are indications to the contrary. In the ancient Jewish tradition, Sheol is a place ...

When we so disconnect our warriors from the realities of war, what does that do to their souls and to our collective soul? Do we lose sight of the horrible human cost of war? Do we become arrogant in our perce ...

Before Elvis and Chuck Berry and Johnny Cash. Before Aretha and Whitney and Beyonce. Before the blues met gospel and conceived rock ‘n’ roll, there was Sister Rosetta Tharpe. Be ...

This week, in the run-up to Sunday's Academy Awards ceremony, we're taking a look at each of the Best Picture nominees, the stories they tell, and the spiritual questions (and answers) they offer. To ...

U.N. reports on drone strikes in Afghanistan. The U.N. mission in Afghanistan released its annual report on civilian casualties in Afghanistan on Tuesday, finding a decrease fro ...

We can argue day and night about whether fear-based theology is effective, biblically accurate, or even necessary. But it’s worthwhile to consider where our contemporary ideas about hell and Satan even come fr ...

In about three dozen briefs filed in recent weeks, groups ranging from U.S. Catholic bishops and evangelicals to state attorneys general and university professors argue that upholding gay marriage could lead t ...

December 20, 2012 Sojo in the News Greg Horton ...

The fragility of life. The servanthood of love. The (im)morality of war. The fundamentals of mercy and justice. The power of grace and forgiveness. The oneness of creation. The personal (and spiritual) toll of ...

Catholics discuss moral and ethical concerns about drone warfare. Dennis Sadowski at Catholic News Service has a good summary of the moral and ethical concerns about dro ...

Controversy over the domestic use of drones is growing. While we have been focusing on drones as weapons of war – killing by drone – controversy over the domestic use of drones ...

When Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected Pope Benedict XVI in 2005, the surprising choice cast a pall over the liberal wing of the flock and left conservatives giddy with the prospect of total victory. ...

As the 117 Roman Catholic cardinals walk into the Sistine Chapel next month for the election of a new pope, one hopes that they fully recognize the unfolding, dramatic pilgrimage of world Christianity: The dem ...

When disgruntled congregations have left hierarchical denominations such as the Episcopal Church, they’ve often lost property battles as civil courts ruled buildings and land are not theirs to keep. ...

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Just as the winter months tend to bring a mellower, melancholic feel to life, so too can music. And some of this month’s more obscure releases do just that. If you’re looking for an album to check out on a dre ...

The Memento mori ("remember you will die") of Ash Wednesday and of a Holy Lent is not a macabre, dark, or morbid reminder. It is our wake up call to live fully in the moment, to live *today* to its f ...

Control of the U.S. drone program may move from the CIA to the Pentagon. The U.S. killing by drones in countries other than war zones is run by the CIA. This leads to the secrecy ...