Sometimes I wonder whether the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on or by imbeciles who really mean it. ~~Mark Twain
This is how it starts, we know how it ends. History has taught us, but as too often the case, we have decided to forego the lessons of history. Trump’s campaign has given permission to the racists and xenophobes in this country to take off the masks of civility, and revel in their hate.
Read more
Starring Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber, Brian d’Arcy James and Stanley Tucci, SPOTLIGHT tells the riveting true story of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Boston Globe investigation that would rock the city and cause a crisis in one of the world’s oldest and most trusted institutions. When the newspaper’s tenacious “Spotlight” team of reporters delves into allegations of abuse in the Catholic Church, their year-long investigation uncovers a decades-long cover-up at the highest levels of Boston’s religious, legal, and government establishment, touching off a wave of revelations around the world. Directed by Academy Award-nominee Tom McCarthy, SPOTLIGHT is a tense investigative dramatic-thriller, tracing the steps to one of the biggest cover-ups in modern times.
Read more
Marco Rubio shared a link to a National Review article about the U.N. report on the Catholic Church’s worldwide problem of child abuse. The report, not surprisingly seems to be in favor of said child abuse, and is indignant that the U.N. would have the gall to call out the Catholic Church on its many abuses. Since he’s provided the link on his Facebook page, I have to assume Marco supports that view.
Read moreStephen Fry explains why the Catholic Church is not a force for good in the world. Fry is a well known British actor, but is probably best known to American audiences for his role in V for Vendetta.
Read moreWhen Robert Langdon discovers evidence of the resurgence of an ancient secret brotherhood known as the Illuminati — the most powerful underground organization in history — he also faces a deadly threat to the existence of the secret organization’s most despised enemy: the Catholic Church. When Langdon learns that the clock is ticking on an unstoppable Illuminati time bomb, he jets to Rome, where he joins forces with Vittoria Vetra, a beautiful and enigmatic Italian scientist. Embarking on a nonstop hunt through sealed crypts, dangerous catacombs, deserted cathedrals and even to the heart of the most secretive vault on earth, Langdon and Vetra will follow a 400-year-old trail of ancient symbols that mark the Vatican’s only hope for survival.
Read morePope John Paul II has died. I’m not Catholic (nor am I one of the many ?former/recovering? Catholics), and I don’t have particularly strong feelings about this particular pope. But seeing the crowd gathered in St Peters Square has caused me to develop some thoughts on the history of the church and John Paul’s place in it.
Read more