Day after day, the cluster of protest placards outside the hospice in Pinellas Park, Fla., kept changing. “Not brain dead” gave way to “Give Terri water.” Hopeful appeals to Gov. Jeb Bush and President George W. Bush turned into cardboard cries of hopelessness. Then a new message appeared in the last days before the death of Terri Schiavo: “No cremation.” Protesters were bracing for the next hot controversy. Now they wanted to know if her husband would go ahead and... Read more
NEW YORK — It’s hard for Roy Schoeman to share his faith without mentioning Abraham, his son Isaac and a sacrificial altar on Mount Moriah. This story from Genesis is a cornerstone of the Jewish faith in which he was raised and educated, the son of Jews who escaped the Holocaust and came to America. But this familiar passage — with its covenant between God and Abraham’s children — also is crucial to his testimony as a convert to Roman... Read more
Comedians know the meaning of the phrase “tough room.” Professional speakers of all kinds try to steer clear of openly hostile audiences. Naturally, clergy avoid them as well. But Denver Archbishop Charles J. Chaput recently accepted a luncheon gig in what he had to know would be a “tough room.” Sure enough, his speech in the open City Club forum produced what veteran Rocky Mountain News religion writer Jean Torkelson called “verbal fisticuffs” when Chaput fielded questions on sex, celibacy,... Read more
The words change from continent to continent, but the world’s 77 million Anglicans have always found unity around altars containing bread and wine. In Ireland’s new Book of Common Prayer, the modern rite proclaims: “Father, with this bread and this cup we do as Christ your Son commanded: we remember his passion and death, we celebrate his resurrection and ascension, and we look for the coming of his kingdom. “Accept through him, our great high priest, this our sacrifice of... Read more
Rare is the movie lover who hasn’t glared at the television and muttered: “If I could pick the Oscars, things would be different.” This year, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (usccb.org) urged Catholics, and anyone else who heard about the online poll, to cast their own votes for the major Academy Awards. And the winners are? The best picture winner was “Million Dollar Baby.” Clint Eastwood won best director, for “Million Dollar Baby.” The best actress honor went to... Read more
Week after week, Eastern Orthodox hierarchs guide their flocks through the incense-shrouded rites that define their ancient faith. Bishops also become experts at another intricate ritual — banquets. So Metropolitan Philip, the Antiochian Orthodox archbishop of North America, was not surprised when he was asked to make a few remarks at the final banquet of the 2004 Clergy-Laity Congress of the Greek Orthodox Church in New York City. He was surprised when Greek Archbishop Demetrios indicated that this was more... Read more
Theologian George Weigel needs a Global Positioning System transmitter on his wrist so journalists can keep track of him. As author of the 1008-page “Witness to Hope: The Biography of Pope John Paul II,” his life has been hectic since the news flash that the shepherd of the world’s 1 billion Catholics had been rushed to hospital, gasping for breath. Weigel said a network-news reporter recently called and asked, ” ‘Where are you going to be tonight, in case something... Read more
Soon after David Solomon arrived at Baylor University in 1960, he realized that one of his new friends had a problem — this rancher’s kid had spent his life in boots. “That’s all he had,” said Solomon, a philosopher who leads the Notre Dame Center for Ethics & Culture. “We went out and he bought his first pair of lace-up shoes. … That’s what Baylor was about, back then. Baylor was supposed to take Baptist kids from small-town Texas churches,... Read more
LOS ANGELES — Hell looks really cool, when seen through a Hollywood lens. The good guys in the upcoming thriller “Constantine” do comment on the sulfur smell in the hell edition of Los Angeles and it’s a pain coping with all those extra tortured, brainless, flesh-eating demons on the 101 Freeway. But the city still looks like Los Angeles, even after an eternity of hurricane-force firestorms. The other place can’t compete, when it comes to entertainment value. “The reason why... Read more
As a rule, newspaper readers do not protest when the Sunday edition includes free soap, toothpaste, shampoo, detergent, AOL software or a razor. Then again, these products do not include pronouncements on sin, sex, money, marriage, heaven, hell and a host of spiritual issues — including the belief that salvation comes through faith in a messiah named Jesus. So International Bible Society leaders were not surprised that some people were upset by their decision to distribute 91,000 New Testaments in... Read more
Terry Mattingly
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