Mark's Blog

One year after becoming Pope in 1978, John Paul II came to America for a six day visit. He was received with wild enthusiasm everywhere he went, not just by Roman Catholics but by nearly everyone else. He was young (59 years old),a playwright and mountain climber, the...

Our nation is facing profound risks in this election cycle.These risks include eroding trust in the voting process and large-scale disinformation campaigns. Not so hidden threats of political violence are being sent out by both the left and the right. The core of...

Our nation is facing profound risks in this election cycle. These risks include eroding trust in the voting process and large-scale disinformation campaigns. Not so hidden threats of political violence are being sent out by both the left and the right. The core of...

Beneath the cruelty and corruption, behind the vengeance against and vilification of perceived enemies, underlying the lies and illegality of the Trump Administration is the incompetence.  Extraordinary incompetence. It is often overlooked, given the litany of...

Immediately after college I went to live in Japan for two years. I taught English in a number of places, among them a girl’s high school. There was an official formality about the place, which manifested whenever I stepped in a classroom: the students stood up. And...

There is much conversation, if not debate, about Christian nationalism. Some Christians are excited about the prospect of Christianity in the United States being officially designated as a Christian nation. Other Christians are appalled at the prospect, if not deeply...

“Throw the bomb”. Some middle school friends and I were watching an NFL football game one Sunday afternoon over sixty years ago. One friend’s dad was planted in an easy chair in front of the TV. Between sips of his drink, with his eyes fixated on the screen, he called...

Thomas Jefferson wrote it. Thousands of communities gathered this past weekend to read it.  And the entire country spent the the 4th of July celebrating the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, a document that marked the birth of the American...

As America approaches the 4th of July, like many of us, I am not feeling optimistic. I am not feeling optimistic about the national celebration itself, as it portends (promises?) to be overtaken by a political spectacle that celebrates a part of American life and...