U.S. Catholic
May 2006
Volume 71; Number 5
cover story
Save me, Jesus! Getting along with your born-again neighbor
More and more Catholics are playing Homer Simpson to the Ned Flanders of their evangelical coworkers, friends, and family members. Peter Feuerherd explains how some are managing this ecumenical dialogue without resorting to a frustrated "Gosh diddily-darn!"
features
Crisis management: Working to make the church safe from sex abuse
Karen Dix describes how dioceses are quietly raising awareness about how to recognize and prevent child sexual abuse.
Immaculate perceptions
Whether posed serenely in an icon or emblazoned powerfully on a Mexican cloak, Jesus' mom is omnipresent in the lives of Catholics. Alice Camille explains the special place Mary has in Catholic belief.
Sax and the city
Though some might think it a little too sultry for Sunday, Riccardo Selva has made the spiritual side of the saxophone his life's work. Maryellen O'Brien improvises a portrait of the artist in In Person.
sounding board
Let's pray, pay, and have our say
Sometimes shepherds need a little guidance themselves, says theologian Richard Gaillardetz in Sounding Board. In Feedback readers say Catholics shouldn't be sheepish about telling the hierarchy what's on their minds.
essays/opinion
My prolife protest
Picket signs may have their place, says Ann LeBlanc, but she wonders just how deep our Catholic commitment to life runs, especially when it comes to the particular lives sitting next to us on Sunday.
Maternal instincts
Though Mother's Day remains difficult for her, Ginny Moyer has learned in her struggle to have a child of her own that motherhood is more than just a biological event.
Splish, splash
Even after doing it all his life, Bryan Cones discovers in Practicing Catholic that a little splash of holy water keeps growing ever deeper in religious, even interreligious, significance.
No substitutions
When wheat-based hosts are the only thing on the Sunday menu, those with celiac disease must go away hungry—or go elsewhere, says David Bellefeuille-Rice in The Examined Life.
departments
Editors' Note
You May Be Right: Letters
Signs of the Times: News
Catholic Tastes
Glad You Asked: "What's the difference between a baptism and a Christening?"
Under Review
Spirituality Café
Meditation: Brian Doyle
columns
Odds & Ends: Peter Gilmour
Code Controversy continued
Margin Notes: Kevin Clarke
Health bill comes due
Testaments: Alice Camille
Travel guide
Culture in Context: Patrick McCormick
Our hearts of darkness