Edited interview published in U.S. Catholic, August 2009
Catholics need to learn more about their Jewish brothers and sisters, Rabbi Ruth Langer says, so they don’t make the same mistakes all over again.
Published in U.S. Catholic, July 2009
Second for feature, Catholic Press Association
Honorable mention for feature, Associated Church Press
Urban violence takes a toll on children, but in Chicago, the Catholic Church is there to support them. Continue reading “Under the gun”
Edited interview published in U.S. Catholic, March 2009
A Catholic view of the market just may be what’s needed to rescue our economy from its moral recession, says economist and theologian Daniel Finn.
Photo story published in U.S. Catholic, March 2009
The growing Kenyan church responds to the challenges of a young democracy.
“Our mother, Kenya, we love you so much; we need you again,” sing the students at St. Joseph Freinademetz Primary School in Ruai, outside of Nairobi, the capital of Kenya.
In early 2008 Kenya abandoned her children. Continue reading “Kenya rising”
Edited interview published in U.S. Catholic, November 2008
It seems that easy sex is rampant on college campuses today, but new research from feminist theologian Donna Freitas reveals that students really want romance.
Edited interview published in U.S. Catholic, August 2008
Poverty is a global problem, and the entire human family will have to contribute to the solution, says Lesley-Anne Knight, the first female secretary general of Caritas Internationalis.
Published in U.S. Catholic, May 2008
Honorable mention for investigative writing, Catholic Press Association
Honorable mention for feature, Associated Church Press
How family farmers are planting for a sustainable future
Russ Kremer had a near-death experience in 1989. On his central Missouri farm, he was bitten by a hog and contracted a form of strep resistant to at least five antibiotics. His hogs’ feed included antibiotics to protect them—but not humans—from disease.
Doctors cured him, but Kremer decided to start his farm operation anew, raising hogs naturally.
Photo story published in U.S. Catholic, November 2007
Catholic college students get schooled in peace and protest at the annual School of the Americas vigil.
“Close it down!” Patrick Eccles, a Loyola University Chicago chaplain, shouted to a group of 50 Loyola students about to embark on a trip to Columbus, Georgia to protest the U.S. Army School of the Americas (SOA). “Close it down,” they replied weakly, seeming unsure of their voices, mission, and comrades.
Three days and 830 miles later, the students stood in a tight circle, arms around each other, waiting to return home. After praying together—for the victims of the SOA, for the efforts to close it, and for the community formed over the weekend&mdashthey repeated the call and response. “Close it down!” they yelled unabashedly this time, turning other protesters’ heads.
The moment was spontaneous—”a positive way to keep people together” when the bus was late—says Rachel Hart, a chaplain and trip organizer. Yet after a transformative weekend that was part spiritual retreat, part social action, and part community building, it was an appropriate “sending forth.”
“There was a community and a spirit of the group that didn’t just end in Georgia,” Hart says. …
PDF of “Basic training” (includes photography)
Megan Sweas 
Catholic and feminist: You got a problem with that?
Published in U.S. Catholic, January 2009
Catholics ought to be loud and proud in the fight for women’s rights, argues a young feminist.
I wasn’t burning my training bras or hating men (they weren’t yet on my radar screen, anyway), but my feminism was ardently liberal and a huge reason I struggled with my faith. …
Read more on USCatholic.org
PDF of “Catholic and Feminist: You got a problem with that?”