The Chicago news was full of sex, children and Roman collars. This wasn’t part of the first national “Sins of the Fathers” furor in the mid-1980s. This was the early 1990s and the Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago eventually opened its files on all 2,252 priests who had served in the previous four decades. The powers that be hunted for pedophiles and they found one. The key word is “one.” One priest had been accused of assaulting a prepubescent child. The... Read more
As the final seconds tick off the game clock, players stream off the sidelines until the two waves of team jerseys meet at midfield. Football fans watch this colorful scene Sunday after Sunday on television. Many combatants trudge together to the locker rooms, while others rush to embrace former teammates. Soon, a circle forms as players from both teams kneel in prayer. “That’s when we pull back to that wide shot of the stadium and cut away as quick as... Read more
No one was surprised when “A Walk to Remember” opened on Jan. 25th and drew flocks of teen-aged girls to the suburban super-cinemas that circle America’s biggest cities. This was, after all, a multi-hanky “chick flick” staring pop diva Mandy Moore. After a week, it was the No. 3 movie and had pulled in $12.2 million, which raised some Hollywood eyebrows because it only cost about $10 million to make. Then the plot thickened. In weeks two and three, ticket... Read more
Science fiction novelist Orson Scott Card is tired of hearing outsiders whispering about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — especially the dreaded C-word. The word in question is not “Christian.” It’s “cult.” “I daresay that the Mormon church is less cult-like than many of the religions that delight in calling us one,” argued Card. “Indeed, calling Mormonism a cult is usually an attempt to get people to behave like robots, blindly obeying the command that they reject... Read more
CRAWFORD, Texas — Don Elrod was spending another hard day on another production line when one of his buddies threw up his hands and keeled over, killed by a heart attack. As a farm hand turned teacher turned carpenter turned asphalt expert, Elrod didn’t know the proper theological lingo to describe what happened in his own heart that day. But this layman knew that something changed. Before long, he became a Methodist preacher. “At some point in life everybody faces... Read more
It happened at the moment in U2’s Zoo TV show where Bono did his “Elvis-devil dance,” decked out in a glittering gold Las Vegas lounge suit and tacky red horns. As usual, the charismatic singer pulled some girl out of the crowd to cavort with Mister MacPhisto, this devilish alter ego. On this night in Wales, his dance partner had her own agenda, Bono told the Irish Times. “Are you still a believer?”, she asked. “If so, what are you... Read more
WASHINGTON — The music was angry and ragged, sounding something like a chainsaw gashing a concrete block — only with a beat that bounced the teens up and down. But this was not the usual mosh scene. This was a Rock For Life concert. “It seems too easy unwanted baby, it could just be thrown away,” chanted Mike Middleton of a Wisconsin band called Hangnail. “A life so helpless counted as useless, another victim of mankind. … Did you even... Read more
The monk had amazing news, so he wrote directly to the Orthodox Patriarch in Jerusalem. The year was 1884 and the ruins of a Byzantine church had surfaced near the north gate of the ancient village of Madaba, south of Amman. The floor included sections of a sixth century map — a spectacular mosaic offering historians vital insights into the culture, wildlife, commerce, art and geography of biblical Palestine. There was a bird’s eye view of Jerusalem, giving pilgrims details... Read more
Frodo Baggins stands alone at the Great River Anduin, holding the one ring of power in his open hand as he prepares to go to the hellish land of Mordor. Why was this task given to him? Then, in his memory, he hears the wizard Gandalf repeating words of wisdom to guide him at that moment. Frodo closes his hand over the ring and continues his quest. This dramatic scene is not in J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings.”... Read more
The images flash by on television screens during every Christmas season. The pope moves slowly around the altar in St. Peter’s Basilica on Christmas Eve or sits on his balcony throne, solemnly waving to flocks of New Year’s pilgrims. He reads sermons which news reports crunch into sound bites about hope and world peace, or joy and world peace. This year it was children and world peace. “My thoughts go to all the children of the world,” said the frail... Read more
Terry Mattingly
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