Commonweal's mission is to provide a forum for civil, reasoned debate on the interaction of faith with contemporary politics and culture. Read by a passionate audience of educated, committed Catholics, as well as readers from many other faith traditions, Commonweal presents well-argued, respectful points of view from across the ideological spectrum. In an often contentiously divided Catholic church and secular culture, our status as an independent, lay-run journal of opinion encourages conversations that can be difficult in other settings. Commonweal is published 20 times a year in print, and also operates a continuously updated Web site at www.commonwealmagazine.org. Since 1924 it has been edited by Catholic laypeople, and it is published by the nonprofit Commonweal Foundation. Its full-time staff of 11 is located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.