“About 40 percent of the people who come here speak English better than Spanish,” Father Murphy says. “They’re all Mexicans, but they got deported after being in the states 30, 40 years. Sometimes they’ll come up and ask, ‘Do you speak English?’”
Jim McDermott
Jim McDermott writes about pop culture at jimmcdermott.substack.
Posted inArts & Culture, Television
‘Roseanne’ and the Two Standards of ABC
ABC faced a decision: invest in stories that speak to our best selves, or make a big splash with a show that draws out our worst instincts.
Posted inDispatches, Faith
What a radio station in Los Angeles is doing to connect young Latino Catholics to their faith
Among both listeners and staff, one can find those who were born and raised in the United States or moved here at a young age and those who are new to the country; those who have papers and those who do not or whose parents do not.
Posted inArts & Culture, Music
What Childish Gambino and Flannery O’Connor have in common
Gambino’s new video for ‘This is America’ is an experience of radical interruption, one that O’Connor would have appreciated.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
California bishops: The mental health care system is broken
“People who suffer from severe and persistent mental illnesses are among the most misunderstood, ignored and unjustly stigmatized members of our society,” the bishops write.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
California has over 700 people on death row and executions could begin soon
In California, Catholic opponents of the death penalty are trying to protect the largest population of inmates awaiting execution in the Western Hemisphere.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
How the church can help fight the tyranny of algorithms
Now a cybersecurity consultant, Dr. Paul Twomey is alarmed by the disregard for ethics in Silicon Valley and calls for the church to advocate for core values.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Everything you’re hearing about Katy Perry and the L.A. Catholic sisters is probably wrong
The only part of the Katy Perry and the nuns story that is accurate is that Sister Holzman tragically passed away in a Los Angeles courtroom.
Posted inDispatches, Faith
Conducting a liturgical whirlwind at the Religious Education Congress
Composer John Flaherty has been overseeing renewal and experimentation at the R.E.C.’s worship services for almost three decades.
Posted inFaith, Features
The remarkable life of the Easter lily and the farmers who make it happen
The Easter lily has its own remarkable story of persistence.