I’ve often said the reason film traditionally tackles religion so poorly is that Hollywood understands film but not faith, and Christians understand faith but not film. Happily, both have been improving in recent years. Christians have been making better films…
Pope Leo selection hints moderate direction for Rome
In what seems to be an act of surprising confidence and agreement, the College of Cardinals came to quick agreement on the second day of this week’s papal Conclave to launch white smoke from the Sistine chapel. Thousands gathered outside…
Pope Leo XIV is likely to continue the Francis agenda
Pope Leo XIV will be known for many things, including being the first American pope and the first Augustinian pope, but he most likely will not be known for turning the Catholic Church in a more conservative direction. Cardinal Robert…
A warning: Not just two Americas, two American religions
John Edwards ran for president years ago talking of the “two Americas,” that of the rich and the poor. Now, through the machinations of our current president and his MAGA-oriented church, we are becoming a nation of two religions. One…
The ancient and modern politics behind choosing a pope
In the colonnade of St. Peter’s Square, not far from the free medical clinic and showers for the homeless and undocumented migrants opened by Pope Francis in 2018, sits a man on a bench. From behind, his clothes are rough…
Dividing lines at Catholic Conclave may be different than you expect
The process of choosing a successor for the late Pope Francis will certainly include maneuvering by conservative and progressive elements in the Catholic Church, but with little if any of the zero-sum scheming common among bitterly divided U.S. denominations, Vatican…
The church is what we do next
Toward the end of the movie Conclave, members of the College of Cardinals regroup following a series of bomb explosions that have rocked the Vatican. After a seasoned cardinal demands militant action against Muslims, a younger Cardinal speaks: No, my…
‘Conclave’: Is It Anti-Catholic Propaganda Or An Oscar-Worthy Film?
Quite a lot of Oscar-nominated movies this year seem to be embroiled in controversy — from “The Brutalist” and its use of AI to the “Emilia Pérez” star’s old tweets (leaving aside the fact that almost everyone seems to agree…
With Oscar-nominee ‘Conclave’ piquing interest, pope keeps dean of the College of Cardinals in place
With interest in a papal elections high thanks to the Oscar-nominated film “Conclave, ” Pope Francis threw a wrench Thursday in some of the speculation about a future Sistine Chapel vote by deciding to extend the term of the current dean of…
How do you create art out of suffering?
In 1992, artist Nick Cave was devastated by the police beating of Rodney King in Los Angeles. As a young Black man, Cave knew the dangerous injustices of racial profiling and then, like the rest of America, viewed King’s beating…