Baptized Catholic actress Leah Remini spent quite a while deeply involved with Scientology, but because of her daughter — and other influences she may not have discussed publicly, such as her devout Catholic “King of Queens” co-star Kevin James — she has returned to the Faith. On Friday, she and husband Angelo Pagan baptized their preteen daughter, Sofia, and posted pictures on social media. Click here to see my CatholicVote story on the event, which includes the pictures and video... Read more
… is that the man behind Ron Perlman’s arm may be wearing a clerical collar (but not a crucifix). He’s certainly wearing one when he first appears in the pilot of “Hand of God,” the new drama from Amazon Studios. But he’s not a Catholic priest; he’s Rev. Paul (Julian Morris), a charismatic preacher with a wife (Elizabeth McLaughlin) who’s willing to have sex with other men in order to get money for their “Hand of God” ministry. Created by... Read more
In a special edition of ABC News’ “20/20,” airing Friday, Sept. 4, anchor David Muir — who was raised Catholic, but no word on whether he still practices the Faith — sits down at the Vatican with Pope Francis to answer satellite questions from Americans, in advance of the pontiff’s first visit to the U.S. in September (the actual event took place on Monday, Aug. 31). From ABC News: The event was moderated from inside the Vatican by ABC News’ “World... Read more
Over at Angelus News, the online version of The Tidings, the newspaper of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, I did a piece on the new film “The Martian,” due out Oct. 2. Directed by Ridley Scott, it stars Matt Damon as an astronaut left for dead during a Mars mission, who must struggle to survive until a rescue mission can be launched. The assembled press was shown about half of the still-unfinished film, and I got a very pleasant surprise.... Read more
ABC sure seems to love Catholics these days, but not in a good way. The network, part of the Walt Disney Company, already has announced plans to put the Catholic-themed sitcom “The Real O’Neals,” based on the life of gay sex columnist and very lapsed Catholic Dan Savage, on ABC’s air at midseason. Click here to see what the trailer showed; I’ve seen the whole pilot, and it’s just … sad. But it’s not on the air yet, and the... Read more
Pardon me for another NFL story, but what I thought would just be a fun afternoon today (Tuesday, Aug. 25) turned into something very different. I was up in the bleachers at Dallas Cowboys training camp in Oxnard, California, watching the team run plays (which is as close as we in L.A. get to pro football these days). Quarterback Tony Romo threw a pass, there was a scramble for the ball, and the next thing I knew, cornerback Orlando Scandrick,... Read more
On the surface, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson appears to have it all — the former pro wrestler has parlayed his ring celebrity (and the nickname that came with it) into a successful career as a film actor, writer and now TV star. In HBO’s half-hour dramedy “Ballers” — which ended its first season on Sunday, Aug. 23, with another on the way — Johnson plays former Miami Dolphins linebacker Spencer Strasmore, who’s dealing with the emotional, physical and psychological issues... Read more
Veteran NFL player Benjamin Watson has made a name for himself off the field as a devout Christian, husband, father and author of a series of Facebook essays that have warmed the hearts of many Americans, whether they’re football fans or not. In the midst of the divisive and bitter national conversation about race, he’s a rare voice of reason, faith and hope. I’ve become a real fan — click here, here, here and here to read Watson’s FB messages on a variety of subjects, including... Read more
Just one more little stop along the strange and winding road of former and perhaps future NFL quarterback Tim Tebow, who came back from career oblivion to get a chance to join the Philadelphia Eagles for the 2015 season. We’re at the beginning of the preseason, and teams are still at training camp — and sometimes they scrimmage with other teams. It’s summer; it’s hot; there’s fierce competition for roster slots — and tempers can boil over (it also helps that there aren’t... Read more
On the last day of the biannual TV Critics Association Press Tour in Beverly Hills,, I got a chance to ask NBC Entertainment Chairman Robert Greenblatt and President Jennifer Salke about the outlook for faith-based programming at NBC in the wake of its cancellation of “A.D.: The Bible Continues.” Said Salke: Yes. Well, we have scripted shows definitely. And [A.D.’ producers] Mark [Burnett] and Roma [Downey] developed a pilot for us last year that dealt with faith and angels, and... Read more
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