America (magazine)

{{Short description|American Jesuit Catholic magazine}}
{{Infobox magazine
|title=America Magazine| image_file      = America (Jesuit magazine).jpg
| editor          = Sam Sawyer, S.J.
| editor_title    = Editor
| previous_editor = {{unbulleted list | [[Drew Christiansen]] | [[Thomas J. Reese]]}}
| frequency       = Monthly
| circulation     = 45,000
| category        = Christianity ([[Catholicism]])
| company         = [[America Media]]
| publisher       = American Jesuits
| founded       = {{Start date|1909|month}}
| country         = [[United States]]
| based           = [[New York City]]
| language        = [[English language|English]]
| issn            = 0002-7049
| website         = {{official URL}}
}}
'''''America''''' is a monthly Catholic magazine published by the [[Jesuits]] of the United States and headquartered in [[midtown Manhattan]]. It contains news and opinion about [[Catholicism]] and how it relates to American politics and cultural life. It has been published continuously since 1909, and is also available online.

With its Jesuit affiliation, ''America'' has been considered a liberal-leaning publication,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Thompson |first1=Damian |title=Caught in the culture wars {{!}} CatholicHerald.co.uk |url=http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/commentandblogs/2018/05/09/caught-in-culture-wars/ |access-date=October 19, 2018 |work=CatholicHerald.co.uk |date=May 9, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=American Historical Periodicals: Periodicals Online |url=https://guides.library.upenn.edu/c.php?g=475902 |website=Penn Libraries |publisher=University of Pennsylvania |access-date=19 October 2018}}</ref><ref name="wapo">{{cite news|last=Boorstein|first=Michelle|title=America, a popular intellectual Catholic magazine, bans terms 'liberal', 'conservative'|newspaper=The Washington Post|date =28 June 2013|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/america-a-popular-intellectual-catholic-magazine-bans-terms-liberal-conservative/2013/06/28/53f9fe6a-df6c-11e2-b2d4-ea6d8f477a01_story.html|access-date=17 July 2015}}</ref> and has been described by ''[[The Washington Post]]'' as "a favorite of Catholic liberal intellectuals".<ref name="wapo" />

==History==
The Jesuit provinces of the U.S.A. founded ''America'' in New York in 1909 and continue to publish the weekly printed magazine. [[Francis X. Talbot]] was [[editor-in-chief]] from 1936 to 1944.<ref name="talbot">{{Cite journal|last=LaFarge|first=John|date=July 1, 1956|title=Obituary: Father Francis Xavier Talbot, S.J., 1889–1953|url=https://jesuitonlinelibrary.bc.edu/?a=d&d=wlet19560701-01.2.5&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN-------|url-status=live|journal=[[Woodstock Letters]]|volume=LXXXV|issue=3|pages=341|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191217152248/https://jesuitonlinelibrary.bc.edu/?a=d&d=wlet19560701-01.2.5&dliv=none&st=1&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN-------|archive-date=December 17, 2019|access-date=December 17, 2019|via=Jesuit Online Library}}</ref>

[[Matt Malone, S.J.|Matt Malone]] became the fourteenth editor-in-chief on 1 October 2012, the youngest in the magazine's history. In September 2013, the magazine published an interview of [[Pope Francis]] with his fellow Jesuit [[Antonio Spadaro]].

In the spring of 2014, Malone announced that ''America'' would open a bureau in Rome with [[Gerard O'Connell]] as  correspondent.

On February 28, 2017, ''America'' launched a podcast, [[Jesuitical (podcast)|Jesuitical]], targeted at young Catholics.<ref>{{cite web|date=2017-02-28|title=Welcome to jesuitical|url=https://www.americamagazine.org/politics-society/2017/02/28/welcome-jesuitical|access-date=2018-05-12}}</ref>

In 2022 Matt Malone concluded his editorship after ten years.<ref>Malone, Matt. 2022. "A Last Word." ''America'' 227 (5): 3.</ref><ref>"After Ten Years at the helm of the venerable Jesuit magazine ''America.''" ''First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion and Public Life'', no. 326, Oct. 2022, p. 68.</ref>

Sam Sawyer became the fifteenth editor.<ref>O'Loughlin, Michael J.(2022) "Father Sam Sawyer Named 15th Editor in Chief of America Magazine." ''America'' 227.1: 1–2.</ref>

== Controversy ==
From 1998, when [[Thomas J. Reese]] became editor-in-chief, the magazine became controversial for publishing articles and opinion pieces at variance with the teaching of the [[Holy See]] on [[homosexuality]], [[priestly celibacy]], [[birth control]], the debate about induced [[abortion]] and other matters. The [[Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith]] proposed a committee of censors to review the magazine's content. Reese resigned in May 2005. The ''[[National Catholic Reporter]]'' asserted that Reese's resignation was forced by the Vatican,<ref>Tom Roberts and John L. Allen, Jr., [http://www.nationalcatholicreporter.org/update/bn050605.htm "Editor of Jesuits' America magazine forced to resign under Vatican pressure], ''National Catholic Reporter'', May 6, 2005</ref> although ''America'' and the Jesuit generalate in Rome denied this.<ref>{{cite news |title=Signs of the Times |url=https://www.americamagazine.org/issue/532/news/signs-times |access-date=October 19, 2018 |work=America |date=May 23, 2005 |language=en}}</ref>

In 2009, under the leadership of Drew Christiansen, the editorial board gave support to an invitation for US President [[Barack Obama]] to receive an [[honorary degree]] at the [[University of Notre Dame]]. This was controversial, since the [[United States Conference of Catholic Bishops]] had discouraged Catholic Universities from honoring politicians and activists that supported [[abortion rights]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Inside the Obama-Notre Dame Debate |url=https://www.thenation.com/article/inside-obama-notre-dame-debate/ |access-date=October 26, 2018 |work=The Nation |date=May 14, 2009 |language=en}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[John J. Wynne]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Official website}}

{{Portal bar|Catholicism}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:America (magazine)}}
[[Category:1909 establishments in the United States]]
[[Category:Weekly magazines published in the United States]]
[[Category:Magazines established in 1909]]
[[Category:Magazines published in New York City]]
[[Category:Jesuit publications]]
[[Category:Catholic magazines published in the United States]]