Category: Essays & Profiles
“The Devil Was Running Things Then”: The Rwandan Genocide and the Poetry of Witness by Andrew Kaufman
A poet processes a global atrocity, bearing witness to a world in which violence, mendacity, and prejudice can somehow coexist with expressions of solidarity and love.
Sinners Don’t Cast Stones by Gene Ciarlo
There must always be room for repentance and openness to grace, for rooting out the desire for revenge and cultivating in its place a desire for forgiveness.
The Child of Fear by Paul Nyklicek
Our primitive fear has served its purpose. Our evolutionary journey needs to continue toward a rational compassion that excludes no one.
“Killed Just for Living in Your American Skin”: Bruce Springsteen and the Role of the Artist in the Nation’s Racial Reckoning by Christopher Pramuk
In Springsteen’s telling, it is not the perfectly heroic life or high-profile actions where light and hope typically breaks through. Fragments of light find their way through in the struggle itself, day in and day out, even and especially when we do not see immediate results.
Editorial: The Double Standard of Justice: A Catholic Response to Kenosha
Too close an association between law enforcement and armed vigilantes does not bode well for democracy, de-racialized policing, or public safety.
From the Archives: “Jose Hobday Loves the Church, Tiptoes Around”
An ongoing series of articles from the TAC archives, beginning with an interview with Native American Franciscan Sister Jose Hobday.
Discerning How to Vote as a Catholic by Fr. Louis Arceneaux, C.M.
Catholic voters need to reflect and decide how they will form their personal consciences based on what they learn from our bishops as well as other sources of Catholic social teaching.
Time to Learn from a Blues People by Alex Mikulich
Lament is not only a critical feature of the blues, it is also central to Catholic faith—we sing during Eucharist that we too, with God, “hear the cry of the poor.”
Passionate about the Wilderness: Edward Abbey and the American Tradition by Leonard Engel
In a time when we are losing the contemplative dimension of the wilderness experience, this 20th-century desert father speaks to us anew.
“Father, If You Are Willing, Take This Cup from Me”: On the Coronavirus Pandemic by Fr. Bedros Shetilian
The great task before us is to face this crisis with dignity and to keep our integrity. It is not easy, but it is possible.
The Sacrament of Ambiguity by Ed Burns
Jesus knew what was in the heart of man, but he also recognized the fundamental goodness that was in us and continually challenged us to live up to that goodness.
Editorial: Confronting the Unconsumed Past: On New Approaches to Criminal Justice
The moment has arrived to reimagine not just the nature of policing, but the whole complex of policies, procedures, and laws that prop up our broken criminal justice system.
Wresting for Light: A Note on Police Violence by Jermaine Woodard Jr.
A personal appeal for empathy, solidarity, and change.
The Collapse of Time by Anne Kerrigan
The way that time seemed to morph, collapse, fall in on itself makes it hard to recall specifics. All I know is that it was a horrific experience, a personal nightmare which has been shared by so many others around the world.