What do we do when we find ourselves, or someone we love, torn between convictions and relationships?
John Dougherty
John Dougherty is the director of mission and ministry at St. Joseph’s Preparatory School in Philadelphia, Pa.
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Movie Club
The film ‘20th Century Women’ asks an age-old Catholic question: Embrace the world or retreat from it?
The characters in ‘20th Century Women’ find themselves torn between embracing the new and retreating into the familiar.
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Movie Club
‘Juno’ is neither a pro-life or a pro-choice movie
It would be an exaggeration to call “Juno” pro-life, but it is encouraging to see a popular film diverge from the familiar culture war battle lines.
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Movie Club
The lesson of ‘Petite Maman’: Have mercy on your parents
“Petite Maman” is a magical-realist story about children and parents, the things we can’t say and learning to understand each other.
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Movie Club
‘Philomena’ asks: In the shadow of the church’s abuse, why do Catholics stay?
Philomena’s faith doesn’t dismiss or excuse the church’s sins, but she has made peace with living in the tension.
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Movie Club
Martin Scorsese’s ‘Hugo’ reminds us: Movies can help to heal our broken world
In “Hugo,” Scorsese’s only family-friendly feature to date, he reflects on how dreams give meaning to our lives and help us persevere through life’s hardships.
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Movie Club
‘O Brother, Where Art Thou?’ is a take on faith that both believers and cynics can appreciate
“O Brother, Where Art Thou?” is the closest that the Coens have come to making a musical, and the film’s lush period folk soundtrack enriches its spiritual themes.
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Movie Club
‘Whiplash’: a film about disordered attachments and the cost of greatness
Played by Miles Teller, Andrew falls prey to an obsession so powerful that it robs us of the clarity or freedom to make good choices.
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Movie Club
Catholic Movie Club: Terrence Malick’s ‘The Tree of Life’ is one long prayer
As much as ‘The Tree of Life’ is about a family, it’s just as much about Jack’s relationship with God, and how it changes as he grows.
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Movie Club
Catholic Movie Club: Óscar Romero’s story reminds us of the cost—and purpose—of discipleship
The paradox at the heart of Christianity is that we must die in order to live again. And few movies witness to that truth like “Romero” (1989).