Ben Breedlove's Witness for Peace By John Dear Like millions around the world, I too was touched by the recent You Tube video of eighteen year old Ben Breedlove, filmed…

This week, the president nominated the head of the U.S. drones program, responsible for killing hundreds, perhaps thousands, of innocent women and children in Afghanistan and Pakistan, to be his…

A few weeks ago at the Pantex nuclear weapons plant near Amarillo, Texas, the United States dismantled its last B53 bomb. There was no fanfare, and little publicity. Some people…

I'll be in Santa Cruz, California, this week to join hundreds of friends at a memorial for my friend and colleague Scott Kennedy, who died suddenly a few weeks ago.…

It's common here in North Carolina's Outer Banks to see pelicans glide effortlessly in single file a foot above the breaking waves along the coastline. On occasion, I've seen a…

I never intended to become a writer-and I certainly don't claim any special talent in that department. Thirty years ago, I looked around and saw that Gandhi, Dr. King, Dorothy…

Once a journalist asked Tolstoy who he thought the greatest American writer was. "Adin Ballou," Tolstoy answered. The journalist was puzzled. Who? He had never heard of Adin Ballou. Few…

"I hope my life tries to give testimony to the message of the Gospel, above all that God loves the world and loves those who are poorest within it." That's…

Just back from two weeks in Ireland with my friends Fr. Bill and Fr. Patrick, where I went to get some perspective on life and the world, including recent events…

The new movie The Way has no explosions, no shootings, no car chases, no vampires and no robots ripping apart tall buildings. Because of that, it probably won't attract many…