News

     Dear Friends,   Jon Sobrino, a Spanish-born Jesuit who has spent most of his life in El Salvador, is one of the pioneering pioneers of liberation theology. In over a dozen books on Christology, spirituality and other themes, all informed by the perspective of the poor and those on the margins, he has  indelibly shaped contemporary theology. In particular, Sobrino’s work has been a form of witness to a church of saints, prophets, and martyrs, including St. Oscar Romero, Blessed Rutilio Grande, his own Jesuit community, massacred in November 1989, and so many other members of the “crucified...

  Dear Friends,            Ninety years ago on May 1, 1933, at a Communist rally in Union Square, Dorothy Day and a small group of friends distributed the first issue of The Catholic Worker newspaper. As the first editorial announced, “For those who think that there is no hope for the future, no recognition of their plight, this little paper is addressed.” In proclaiming the radical social message of the gospel, the paper became the foundation of a movement that continues to this day.             Having at one time served as managing editor of the CW,...

Dear Friends,   This month brings news of two prestigious awards for two Orbis authors. First, the Grawemeyer Award in Religion has been given to Kelly Brown Douglas for her Resurrection Hope: A Future where Black Lives Matter. Inspired by questions from her adult son in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder, Douglas offers a deep exploration of the roots of white supremacy in America along with an account of her personal struggle for faith in the face of ongoing racial injustice. As Bishop Mariann Budde of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington notes, “Douglas takes us with her on a...

Dear Friends,   Ten years ago, in March 2013, Pope Francis first appeared on the balcony of St. Peter’s and asked the People of God to pray for him. As became clear in the days and years that followed, the choice of his papal name, inspired by St. Francis of Assisi, was a telling indication of his own agenda. Like his namesake, he has set out to renew the church and its mission with special regard for the poor and those on the margins; to emphasize the theme of mercy; to reach out in friendship to other religions; to promote...

Dear Friends,   In his recent encyclical, Fratelli Tutti, Pope Francis outlined the vision of a world reshaped by the spirit of “fraternity and social friendship.” Among his themes: “a better kind of politics,” solidarity with those on the margins, care for the earth, a new encounter with people of other faiths, the rejection of racism and xenophobia, and the commandment to love our neighbors as ourselves. I was struck by how many of these themes are echoed in new Orbis titles. One of the contexts for the Pope’s encyclical was the experience of the Covid-19 pandemic, which “momentarily revived...