Show Notes
When he was missioned to Beirut last fall, Fr. Doug Jones, a recently ordained Jesuit priest, expected to spend his time conducting research and administering sacraments.
But since the beginning of Israel’s war with Hezbollah on March 2, Fr. Jones finds himself scanning social media for air strike warnings and handing out towels to migrants and other displaced people living in his parish church.
Israel has been intensifying its attacks on Lebanon for more than one month, and has made no secret of its ambitions to invade and eventually annex the southern part of the country.
Meanwhile more than twelve hundred Lebanese have been killed and one million have been displaced—a growing humanitarian catastrophe with no end in sight.
On this episode, Fr. Jones speaks from Beirut with associate editor Griffin Oleynick about the war in Lebanon, and how he and the Church there have responded.
For further reading:
The editors condemn Trump’s war on Iran
Joseph Amar on Christianity in the Middle East
Zeead Yaghi explains the economic toll of Lebanese sectarianism
More from The Commonweal Podcast
The field of history is under fire these days, and not just from conservatives.
Readers of Commonweal and beyond will likely recognize Lawrence Joseph, the author of many books of poetry and prose, and whose work has often appeared in the pages of our magazine.
By now, many of us are familiar with the realities of the Trump administration’s violent campaign of mass deportations. But how often do we listen to the stories of some of the most vulnerable victims—young children and teenagers separated from their families?
What happens when we read the Bible? Why do we read it? What does it do to us?
Debates over artificial intelligence tend to vacillate between the poles of blustery optimism and spiraling despair, with AI boosters making stratospheric claims for the technology just as critics vociferously denounce its capacity for disruption.