Father James F. Keenan, SJ

February 06, 2019

Doing virtue in Rome

I arrived here in Rome two weeks ago. I will be living and writing my columns for Chicago Catholic for the next seven months here.

January 09, 2019

Looking for good siblings

Just as the year came to an end, we celebrated the feast of the Holy Family on Dec. 30. We remember that the church celebrates the feast right after Christmas. After celebrating Christmas, the feast of the Incarnation, when the Son of God became human, we celebrate the next Sunday that the Incarnation happened in an actual historical family.

November 20, 2018

A silver lining?

Many people were disappointed when, as the U.S. bishops began their meeting in Baltimore Nov. 12, it was announced that the Vatican instructed them to delay their votes on their response to the abuse crisis until a February meeting of the presidents of the world’s bishops conferences.

October 24, 2018

Conscience and Synod on Youth

As I write, a monthlong synod — a church assembly that can be regional or international — is being held to discuss how the church can better accompany young people.

September 19, 2018

So what?

I never wanted to teach. In fact, when I was a Jesuit scholastic in formation, I became a community organizer and worked wherever I studied.

August 22, 2018

Learning the value of education

I grew up as a member of a Brooklyn working-class family of seven (my father was a police officer, my mother a homemaker and a typist turned administrator). We lived in a Catholic neighborhood where each of us attended the parochial school.

July 25, 2018

Sarajevo 2018

Sixteen years ago, my Boston College colleague Steve Pope was visiting Rome, where I was teaching at the Gregorian University. I offered to introduce him to some Roman moral theologians.

June 18, 2018

Romans 13 and unjust laws

On June 14, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions described “concerns raised by our church friends about separating families” as “not fair or logical.” He then cited Scripture to support his position:

June 06, 2018

Community colleges: restoring the promise

Any article on community colleges begins with the promise that such colleges offer, especially to the working class. These colleges are local and affordable and offer a passage to a four-year college degree.

April 25, 2018

Binge drinking on college campuses

American college campuses have a drinking problem. Here’s a sample of the bracing data produced by the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism:
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