Benedict XVI's upcoming visit to the U.S. is sure to provoke unfavorable comparisons to his more charismatic predecessor, John Paul II. So it's time for him to change his image. How? The cerebral theologian needs to interrupt his schedule, put on sweat clothes, and drop in on a yoga class when he's in town!

He'd accomplish more than an image upgrade. There, sweating in exercise clothes and sneakers, he'd find growing numbers of Americans who have turned to the ancient Hindu practice for both physical and spiritual centering. The Pope would do well to understand the yoga students and their spiritual lives if he is to be fully successful at communicating the message of the gospel to this nation.

Continue »

Last week, inspired by a bunch of high-powered celebrities on Idol Gives Back, Americans donated over $60 million to a bunch of indisputably good causes. Egged on by Miley Cyrus, Billy Crystal, John Legend, Fergie, and Snoop Dogg, American Idol's fans rose to the occasion.

But we shouldn't lose sight of the most important element of making a difference: it's to get up close and personal with others who need a hand. It's to match giving with service, the kind of service that is personal, intimate, and authentic. It's to make service a relationship with dignity and respect at the core. It's going eye to eye with someone in need so that someone in need can make a difference for you too.

Continue »

I am proud.

I am proud to be a Catholic after reading Benedict XVI’s homily from the mass he celebrated yesterday. He spoke of the gift of “the hope born of love, poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit (cf Rom 5:5). He spoke of renewal as a gift of God, of forgiveness as a gift for which we each hunger, of the work of so many in “forming the hearts and minds of the young in knowledge and love of the Lord.” I long for that hope, that love, that faith too. May I have eyes to see it and ears to hear it today and forever.

Continue »

With all the excitement surrounding the Pope’s visit to the United States last week, Gordon Brown’s visit went almost unnoticed. But while the Pope was calling for a renewal of love, the British Prime Minister proposed something that could make such a renewal happen.

In a major speech in Boston, Brown called for the United States and other countries to join together to create a new series of institutions to lead the globalized world. Much of what he called for were changes in regulatory and financial institutions. But he also proposed new institutions of service to build a global society, one focused on aspirations that transcend national borders and foster mutual interests grounded in common values.

Specifically, Brown challenged citizens around the world to create a “global peace and reconstruction corps”–a sort of Peace Corps for citizens and governments of all countries to participate in service, to respond to crises and to help build the citizen institutions necessary for peace and stability everywhere.

That’s a good idea for a lot of reasons.

Continue »

Theres’s a lot of talk in this election about experience. Whose is more valuable, who has more of it, who has the right type? Right now, voters who prize experience are voting more for Clinton on the Democratic side while Republicans are said to be excited about the prospect of comparing John McCain’s experience to either Democratic hopeful.

These debates tend to overlook one point: the kind of experience that will make the greatest difference in the future has little to do with policy or politics. The presidential experience that is most needed is experience understanding the conditions and attitudes of humiliated and angry people.

In Iraq? Yes. Whatever military success may occur, a political solution must go along with it. But which candidate really understands the divided and angry people of Iraq? Who has the experience to know that what’s needed is a process of citizen reconciliation, a program of community building, the goal of creating law and literacy block by block?

And not just in Iraq. Grinding poverty consumes two thirds of the human family, creating a giant tinderbox of humiliation and explosive anger. These battered billions represent the greatest threat to our future safety and economic stability. Which candidate has a realistic view of what the United States can do about that?

Continue »