The Deacon's Bench
Following reports that Katie Holmes is joining a Catholic parish in New York City, CNN looks at what happens when the famous are also among the faithful:
Joseph Zwilling, the spokesman for the Catholic Archdiocese of New York, couldn’t confirm or deny that Holmes had joined the Church of St. Francis Xavier or any other Catholic church, saying that “if a person joined the parish, it’s done on the parish level.” Zwilling said he had not heard one way or the other from St. Francis Xavier’s administrative offices.
Celebrities have bemoaned their lack of privacy when it comes to matters religious. “Next time I’m in church, please no photos,” raps Kanye West in “Run this Town,” a hit song he recorded with Rihanna and Jay-Z.
The Archdiocese of New York is no stranger to celebrity guests at its services, particularly at the famed St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Zwilling said, but “we have not had any incidents with paparazzi or other people approaching (celebrities) at Mass. If they did they’d be asked to leave.”
“Anyone who comes to Mass would be expected to follow the proper protocols,” he said. “I think people understand and respect when you’re in church, you don’t disturb them when they’re in a house of worship.”
Tod Tamberg, spokesman for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, was born in Hollywood and grew up going to St. Charles Catholic Church in North Hollywood. He remembered going to services with “Farrah Fawcett on one side of me, John Wayne’s family on the other side of me and the Bob Hope family behind me.”
Tamberg said he has had few, if any, incidents surrounding celebrities attending worship services.
“When they come through the doors of the church, people know who people are, but people are doing their own thing,” he said. “I’ve never seen anyone ask for autographs over the years … and I’ve been in position to see it a lot.”
Should Holmes decide to return to the Catholic Church, she could follow a similar script as Nicole Kidman, who was also once married to Cruise and was also raised Catholic.
Tamberg said Kidman has returned to the church since her divorce.
“Usually, what happens is, there’s still some ties to the church through your family,” he said. “My understanding with the Kidman story is, she was close to a priest her family had known their whole lives. That was helpful to her in picking up the pieces after the divorce.”
Should Holmes decide to return to Catholicism, Tamberg said, it’s a fairly easy process.
“You basically can pick it up where you left off,” he said, pointing to Jesus talking often in the Bible of rejoicing over wandering adherents returning to the fold.
“There’s no test you have to take. Once you’ve received the sacraments, those are a permanent mark,” he said, citing the sacraments of Communion, baptism and confirmation.
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