L’Esorcista del Papa (my film review in Italian)

Last updated on: September 17, 2025 at 7:00 pm By Sister Rose

Nel suo secondo ruolo di supereroe romano, Russell Crowe si sposta dal II secolo come Massimo, un gladiatore che combatte per l’intrattenimento dell’imperatore (“Il Gladiatore” del 2000), al XXI secolo come il sacerdote cattolico padre Gabriele Amorth, che combatte il diavolo con un po’ di aiuto nel recentemente uscito “Il Esorcista del Papa”. (Per essere equi, Crowe ha anche interpretato il padre di Superman, Jor-El, nel 2013 in “Man of Steel”, ma non ha raggiunto lo status di supereroe come... Read more

Adolescence: Netflix series asks what lies beneath

Last updated on: September 17, 2025 at 6:01 pm By Sister Rose

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Deserves To Be Seen And Awarded Last weekend, I watched “Adolescence,” the new four-part Netflix series, and it haunts me. You take a good, nice, middle-class British family living in the nice suburbs, where the parents (dad Eddie, played by Stephen Graham, and mom Manda, played by Christine Tremarco) think all is well behind the bedroom door of their 13-year-old son, Jamie ( Owen Cooper). This series, a soul-searing commentary on the family and society, deserves to be seen and... Read more

New docudrama explains Immaculate Conception dogma

Last updated on: September 17, 2025 at 6:03 pm By Sister Rose

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In an early episode of the popular teen musical show “Glee” (November 26, 2009), Puck tries to find out who the father of Quinn’s baby is. Quinn is known to have been a virgin, and when she refuses to say, Puck yells out, “Well, call the Vatican! We’ve got ourselves another immaculate conception!” Though at least one of the creators of “Glee” is Catholic, it seems they, like so many Catholics, are confused about what the real meaning of the... Read more

New Teilhard de Chardin film thoughtful, inspiring biography

Last updated on: September 17, 2025 at 6:58 pm By Sister Rose

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In “Teilhard: Visionary Scientist,” a new documentary to be broadcast on PBS, four key ideas emerge from the life and mind of Jesuit Fr. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881-1955): evolution, integration, fire and passion. The fascinating visionary, paleontologist, theologian, geologist, philosopher, evolutionary theorist and mystic provides ample subject matter for a two-hour documentary. In an exclusive interview for NCR, producer Mary Frost told me the film had taken 13 years to accomplish — shot in four countries on three continents... Read more

Irena’s Vow: Grace and Strength in the Face of Evil

Last updated on: April 8, 2024 at 11:03 am By Sister Rose

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When Germany and the Soviet Union invaded Poland in September 1939 and divided the country into west and east, the lives of all Polish people, Gentile and Jew, were changed forever, and so many were destroyed. Irene Gut (Sophie Nélisse) is a very capable 19-year-old Catholic young nurse from eastern Poland who is forced to work for Nazi officers, not knowing what happened to her mother and four sisters. After working in a munitions factory for a year, she attracts... Read more

“Cabrini” hope of immigrants and first U.S. saint

Last updated on: March 1, 2024 at 7:09 am By Sister Rose

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In 1889, a group of young Catholic sisters from Italy called the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart of Jesus disembarked in New York. Led by their determined 39-year-old superior, Mother Francis Xavier Cabrini (Cristina Dell’Anna), these sisters, inspired by their mission to spread devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus by living the spiritual and corporal works of mercy (Matthew 25), were met with disdain and prejudice by both church and civil authorities in the persons of Archbishop Michael Corrigan... Read more

Reflections on the Mysteries of the Rosary (thanks to A.I.)

Last updated on: May 12, 2023 at 8:20 am By Sister Rose

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A nun-friend asked me to write a brief reflection on each of the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary. Time being short, I asked A.I. (GoatChat) to write the reflections. After sharing these on Facebook, a friend asked me for A.I. reflections on the other mysteries. I am pleased to post them here (with some slight edits here and there). The reflections on the Joyful, Sorrowful, and Glorious Mysteries are taken from the writings of our Founder, Blessed James Alberione, SSP... Read more

The Pope’s Exorcist: the exorcist as superhero

Last updated on: April 13, 2023 at 8:39 am By Sister Rose

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In Russell Crowe’s second role as a Roman superhero, he moves from the 2nd century as Maximus, a gladiator who does battle for the emperor’s entertainment (“The Gladiator” 2000), to the 21st century as the Catholic priest Fr Gabriel Amorth, who fights the devil with a bit of help in the newly released “The Pope’s Exorcist.” (To be fair, Crowe also played Superman’s father, Jor-El, in 2013 in “Man of Steel,” but he didn’t quite reach superhero status... Read more

“Santiago: The Camino Within” contemplates the pilgrim’s journey in sight and sound

Last updated on: March 26, 2023 at 9:26 am By Sister Rose

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If you’ve followed my reviews over the years, you will know that I have soft spot for films about the Camino de Santiago de Compostella in Spain. A new film will be in theatres one night only, Tuesday, March 28, 2023. Click HERE for ticket information. (Compostella means field of stars.) What makes this film about the Camino slightly different from the others is its pacing, giving silent space for us, audiences making the Camino from a theater seat... Read more

“In Solidarity with Ukraine” new doc from the Knights of Columbus on ABC affiliates

Last updated on: March 26, 2023 at 8:23 am By Sister Rose

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This moving new documentary “In Solidarity with Ukraine” from the Knights of Columbus is a look at the Catholic organization’s incredibly swift response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine during the first few months after the invasion in 2022. It will begin airing on ABC affiliate stations across the USA for six weeks beginning today, March 26, 2023. Please check local listings. It seems to me that the highly produced film has many purposes: to show how its members... Read more

Who was called by God from a burning bush to lead Israel out of Egypt?