The Harrisburg Conspiracy: The Berrigans and the Catholic Left

Christ’s Attack on Hell April 20, 2020

The icon most often displayed in Orthodox churches and homes during the Paschal season portrays Christ’s attack on hell. “You have descended into the abyss of the earth, O Christ,” the Orthodox Church sings at Pascha, “and have broken down the eternal doors which imprison those who are bound, and like Jonah after three days […]

Meeting a Stranger on the Road to Emmaus April 20, 2020

By Jim Forest One of the primary metaphors of pilgrimage is the road to Emmaus. It’s the setting of a resurrection story told by Luke. We meet the risen Christ traveling unrecognized with two disciples as they make their way to Emmaus, a village described as being seven miles — less than a two-hour walk […]

Re-reading ‘Love in the Ruins’ April 1, 2020

By Jim Forest I’ve just finished re-reading Walker Percy’s apocalyptic comedy, Love in the Ruins. It’s one of the books I return to every few years and find even better each time. The story, set in the near future, is more timely, and more prophetic, than it was when the book was first published half-a-century […]

Paying the Price of Peace: an interview with Nobel Laureate Betty Williams March 22, 2020

In December 1976 Betty Williams and Mairead Corrigan were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts to prevent a civil war in Norther Ireland. This interview took place in Belfast in the summer of 1977. In war, the ancient Greek proverb offers, the first casualty is truth. Perhaps hope is second. During recent conversations […]