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Arabic, A Christian Language

To whom does a language belong? One might think it the possession of all who speak it. But as anyone who has learned a foreign language can attest, one receives such a language as an ill-fitting garment, awkward until broken in through sustained and strenuous effort. Or perhaps a language is the . . . . Continue Reading »

Briefly Noted

There’s a poem by John Donne that makes a presence of an absence; his absent love becomes as real to the speaker and more fully his than if she were present. This could illustrate what Katherine Rundell wants us to see in the work of John Donne, seventeenth-century metaphysical poet and preacher, . . . . Continue Reading »

Letters

I read with interest the article by Joshua Katz in the January 2023 edition titled “Grace and Serendipity.” In response I offer the following: I had just been named pastor of a parish (Diocese of Oakland, California) and was assigned a mentor, one of the senior priests. In our first meeting, I . . . . Continue Reading »

Saving Mankind

Inclusive language is exclusive; exclusive language is inclusive. That’s the oxymoronic truth I will argue here. So as not to cause confusion, let me briefly explain. By claiming that inclusive language is exclusive, I mean that so-called gender-­inclusive language (such as . . . . Continue Reading »

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