The child, as the psychoanalytic theorist Adam Phillips points out, “remains our most convincing essentialism.” By this he means that at…
Roman Catholic Church
The curious case of Paul Richard Shanley
In the discursive regime of sexual abuse, the operative silence is the victim’s. This silence stems from shame and intimidation.…
Monsignor William J. Lynn sentenced
Religion News Service reports that Monsignor William J. Lynn, the secretary for clergy at the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and the…
Abusing rhetoric
Many of these documents are appalling in the way that bureaucratic recitals of torture are appalling, in the way that ledgers…
Separationism and the sex abuse crisis
While greatly admiring the other pieces in this series and the humanist sensibility and critique that pervades them, I will…
Placing childhood sexual abuse in historical perspective
One of the major achievements of the past quarter century has been the growing awareness of the prevalence and damaging…
Catholic doctrine and universities
In a recent article, Libby A. Nelson discusses the role of faith in Catholic universities and puts forth the question,…
The Vatican and the “war on women religious”
The recent Vatican report on the Leadership Council of Women Religious (LCWR), an umbrella organization representing roughly eighty percent of American…
War on nuns
At The Nation, Norman Birnbaum, professor emeritus at Georgetown University Law Center, rebukes the Catholic Church for its historical "unyielding…
Pope Benedict XVI’s trip to Cuba
Last week at The New Republic, Carlos Eire reviewed the Pope’s recent visit to Cuba.