You have to hand it to Mel Gibson. Whether his decision to screen The Passion of the Christ in advance for only a hand-picked cadre of sympathetic reviewers (mostly evangelical Protestants, conservative Catholics and sympathetic rabbis) was motivated by fear, money or faith, it was an excellent mark
James Martin, S.J.
The Rev. James Martin, S.J., is a Jesuit priest, author, editor at large at America and founder of Outreach.
Posted inTelevision
Sex and Reality in the City
Sarah Jessica Parker has spent a lot of time at America House. Well, not really. But over the past several years, the cast and crew of the popular, and soon to be departed, HBO series Sex and the City (Sundays, 9 p.m. ET) have frequently been spotted filming on our block in midtown Manhattan, have d
Posted inOf Many Things
Of Many Things
Here’s an old chestnut I first heard as a novice: "He’s as confused as a Jesuit during Holy Week!" Ha ha. We Jesuits were supposed to be so addled about liturgical practices that the elaborate rituals of Holy Week were for us a mystery – and not the good kind of mystery.There i
Posted inOf Many Things
Of Many Things
On the day after Thanksgiving, I attended the 25th reunion of my high school class and experienced something quite unexpected. Actually, I almost didn’t go. Though I am in touch with most of my good friends from high school, many have moved away and were not planning to attend. Another friend
Posted inFaith, Faith in Focus
Remembering the Christmas traditions of my family and the Holy Family
When I think about the Holy Family I remember other holy families as well, the ones who brought me up in the faith, who showed me how to love and who taught me how to celebrate Christmas.
Posted inOf Many Things
Of Many Things
A few weeks ago, Andrew Sullivan, a senior editor of The New Republic, wrote an impassioned article that appeared in the op-ed section of The New York Times, entitled Losing a Church, Keeping the Faith. In his article, Mr. Sullivan discussed his ardent desire to reconcile his homosexuality with his
Posted inFrom Our Archives
To Love and to Pray’: A Conversation With Boston’s Archbishop Sean O’Malley
With the appointment of Sean Patrick O’Malley, O.F.M.Cap., as archbishop, the city of Boston seemed to breathe a collective sigh of relief. For the new archbishop appears to be the right man for one of the most difficult jobs in the church in the United Statesheading up an archdiocese that Arc
Posted inTelevision
God and the New Fall Shows
This year the question of which new fall shows to review proves unusually easy. For two new series feature a character familiar to readers of this magazine: God. In CBS’s wonderfully inventive new drama Joan of Arcadia (Friday, 8-9 p.m. ET), the teenage Joan, daughter of the local police chief
Posted inArts & Culture, Of Many Things
Of Many Things
Summer is the perfect time to catch up on reading those books you’ve set aside for that eschatological someday. With that in mind, I offer a short list of summer reading suggestions. The four books can be characterized as follows: new and fun, sort of new and very interesting, old and wonderfu
Posted inTelevision
The Year in TV
Certainly the biggest story in and on television this year was the war in Iraq. The calculated decision by the Pentagon to embed in the theater of war all manner of journalists (including reporters from MTV and Men’s Health magazine) greatly increased the quantity of news stories filed during