"The Terri Schiavo Story"

Four years ago, a young disabled woman was dehydrated by court order, at the command of her estranged husband, while her loving family's offers to take her into their home and care for her without compensation were ignored. This happened in America.
The President came back from a trip in the wee hours of the morning to sign a bill named Terri's Law passed unanimously by the Senate. The Governor of her state ordered that the evidence of the trial which condemned her to slow and painful death be re-examined and he was overruled by the Florida Supreme Court.
A President, a Governor, a Civil Rights Leader (Jesse Jackson), a Christian celebrity (Joni) a talk radio superstar (Sean Hannity) and a famous priest (Fr Frank Pavone) failed in their heartfelt efforts to save a young woman whose only crime was that her husband had moved on with his affections and started a family elsewhere.
Michael Schiavo had for some unknown reason, changed his mind from partnering with her parents in helping his wife's recovery, and suing her doctors for $20 million for her breakdown to have money to pay for her recuperative therapy, to a surly unresponsive man who only spoke through lawyers like George Felos who specialized in euthanasia.
The soundtrack is reminiscent of "The Passion of the Christ" evoking that same dread that someone innocent is going to suffer by the end of this film.This story is told in a compelling manner by Joni, a quadriplegic with the unique perspective to help us understand what Terri's feelings may have been, if she had just been able to speak more clearly. For speak she did, until Michael discontinued her therapy as "pointless".
Joni offers the viewer her voice for her sister Terri who was silenced so unthinkably.We must never let this tragedy be forgotten, as it continues unabated. in many hospices around the world, most recently to Eulana Englaro in Italy. The horror of forced dehydration will increase until it threatens someone you love. Four years ago, during this tragedy, I felt the hot breath of the likes of George Felos after my three year old daughter Christina who has Down syndrome, who many regard as "life unworthy of life".
If a person's rights are determined by an arbitrary secular standard, any one of us may be in a situation one day where we are terminated for the good of society. It's what we would want, isn't it?Let's remember Terri's Day and say "never again" in America will a healthy young woman who happens to be silent, suffer the agony of dehydration.
I highly recommend this riveting, yet balanced (yes, George Felos got his say) two part "Joni and Friends" TV show called "The Terri Schiavo. Story". It unpacks the emotionally complex story in a manner which unravels the maddening confusion deliberately created by the one-sided media and explains poignantly how a family's private battle inflamed an entire nation.
View it to remember that we do indeed inhabit a Culture of Death.
Watch the trailer here. Purchase the film from Franklin Springs Family Media here.

Movie Review: 12 Rounds - PG13

cross-posted from A Catholic View

I'm a WWE fan, and John Cena happens to be my favorite :)

In 12 Rounds, Cena plays Danny Fisher, a New Orleans cop who helps catch a terrorist, Miles Jackson. While he is apprehending Jackson, Jackson's girlfriend tries to run and gets hit and killed by a car. One year later, Jackson escapes and comes looking for revenge. He kidnaps Danny's girlfriend Molly and devises a series of challenges (rounds) which Danny must pass to get Molly back. There is also an ulterior motive in some of the steps, which is helping Jackson pull off another heist. Part of what makes this a very good movie is how smart Jackson is, and how he has planned and thought out each step of the 'rounds'. Danny is an excellent counter to that, because he is pretty good at figuring out Jackson's plan.

Actually Not too much in content warnings. There is some cursing, some violence, and lots of action, and explosions.

An excellent movie.

http://www.12rounds-movie.com

Win $100 Gift Card for the Cutest First Communion Photo

Now this looks like a good deal! Send in those photos, y'all!

The Catholic Company, the market leader for online Catholic books and gifts, has just announced a First Communion Photo Contest. What a great excuse to pull those photos out of the photo book and show them off again. Bloggers, podcasters, and webmasters can also win a $50 Gift Card for referring the winning entry to the contest, so be sure to spread the word!

Vatican Newspaper Interviews Dreamworks Animation CEO

cross-posted from A Catholic View

In a brief interview that appeared in the March 26 edition of L’Osservatore Romano, Jeffrey Katzenberg, CEO of DreamWorks Animation, spoke of the moral dimension of his animated films. Although films, he said, must respond to public expectations, “in our films we have always tried to choose from themes that had a value, a moral.” The studio’s newest film, Monster vs. Aliens, manifests the value of tolerance, said Katzenberg. Katzenberg also spoke of the extraordinary challenges of faithfully portraying biblical accounts in the essentially comedic animated film genre. Katzenberg consulted with the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights during the production of the 1998 film The Prince of Egypt, and two years later, Katzenberg produced Joseph: King of Dreams.

story here

Reviewing "For Better, For Worse, For God"

For Better, for Worse, for God: Exploring the Holy Mystery of Marriage

... becoming one flesh means more than a physical union. Genesis says that God created man and woman to become one body. The Hebrew word for body or "flesh," refers to the physical body for sure, but it encompasses much more. Body includes the whole person: body, mind, and spirit. We're called to be united with our spouse physically, emotionally, and spiritually while retaining our unique individuality. God's design for this partnership is that it nurtures our lives and in so doing gives life to the world.

Men Are from Mars and Women Are from Venus--John Gray and his publishers picked a great title for his bestselling book on marriage. It has become a popular shorthand way of saying that men and women are profoundly different. They are so different that it often seems they live on different planets.

In addition to the obvious anatomical differences, men and women are "wired" differently in their communication styles, emotional makeup, and sexual responses. You and your spouse differ as individuals. Your temperaments are different. You come into marriage with dissimilar expectations, desires, hopes and approaches to problem solving. And while you don't really live on different planets, you come from different places. You were raised in different families. Your family of origin gave you ideas about marriage, child rearing, sex roles, and family values that are different from your spouse's. Some marriage experts say that incompatibility was never a valid reaon for divorce becuase all couples are incompatible to some extent.

Creating an "us" in the face of these differences is a challenging dimension of the vocation of marriage. to become "one," partners must understand the many ways in which they differ from each other and recognize how their differences can work in their favor in terms of their partnership. They also need to learn to manage these differences without hurting each other.

First, becoming an "us" is a realistic goal. The differences between men and women are great, but the desire to achieve unity is even greater. Men and women deeply desire each other; most men and women want to share their lives with a partner of the opposite sex. ... If God created us this way, we can be assured that he gives us the grace to achieve the union we desire.

Second, the work of becoming an "us" is spiritual work, and it requires spiritual disciplines, as already mentioned. Each vocation has its distinctive challenges, and becoming one with a particular other person for life is the unique challenge of marriage; the spiritual disciplines of marriage are the tools we use to achieve it. The disciplines we practice within marriage may seem mundane, such as counting to ten before returning an angry response, or waiting patiently for a spouse who is slow, but they accomplish something remarkable. They allow us to live in communion with someone who feels, perceives, reacts, responds, and loves differently from us.

Living in communion is holy because the conjugal life both mirrors and provides the world with an experience of belonging and acceptance God desires with us. Like the "communion" we experience in the sacraments of the Eucharist, marriage can provide the opportunity to "be one in Christ," the goal for all baptized believers.

Someone who has attended one of the Beyond Cana marriage enrichment retreats that Tom and I help to present may recognize many, if not all, of the principles above. Members of the presentation team definitely will. After working on these retreats for several years, I can tell you that I was blown away by Mary Jo Pederson's book. She consistently took the concepts that Tom and I have learned and practiced in that retreat and expanded upon them in knowledgeable, practical, spiritual, and even humorous ways.

If I included all the pieces that I read aloud to Tom, only to hear him say, "Wow. That is so true. This author is really good!" then we'd be here all day. This is the book I will be buying for newly weds, friends who wish they could make it to a retreat, and for our girls when they are getting married. It can't replace a retreat but it surely is a good supplement and a great grounding in reality for any married couple. Highest recommendations on this one.

Cross posted at Happy Catholic.

Play about life of St. John Vianney to tour U.S. in 2009

cross-posted from A Catholic View

A production of a play on the life of St. John Vianney will begin its U.S. tour this August, traveling to parishes, theaters, seminaries, universities and Catholic schools to help mark the Year of the Priesthood declared by Pope Benedict XVI.

The play "Vianney" is produced by Leonardo Defilippis, director and star of the film Thérèse. It tells the story of St. John Vianney, who lived from 1786 to 1859. The play will discuss the life of the saint, also known as the Curé of Ars, from his childhood during the French Revolution through his forty years as parish priest in the small village of Ars, France.

Pilgrims from across the globe flocked to the priest for confession and for his preaching. Ars itself changed from a lax community to a thriving Christian center.

Ordinary witnesses reported that the Virgin Mary regularly appeared at the rectory to converse with the saint, while the devil reportedly tried to harass him. Miracles of multiplying bread for the hungry, healing and prophecy also followed the saint.

Pope Benedict declared June 2009 through June 2010 as the Year of the Priesthood, dedicated to St. John Vianney.

Defilippis said in a press release that the focus on the saint is "right on target."

source here

http://www.vianneydrama.com/

Trailer The Terri Schiavo Story

Movie Review: Knowing - PG13

cross-posted from A Catholic View

In 1958, a class in an elementary school makes drawings and messages to be put in a time capsule. Most of them write about, or draw, what they think the future will be like. One girl, Lucinda Embry, writes a paper full of numbers, but her time to write it is cut short by the teacher, so she is not able to finish it.
The time capsule is opened 50 years later, on the anniversary of its burying. Each kid in the class in 2008 receives one of the drawings. The boy who gets Lucinda's page of numbers is Caleb Koestler, the son of John Koestler (Cage), an MIT professor. John's wife died approximately a year ago. As the previews show, Koestler figures out that the numbers represent dates, and the numbers of people that will die on those dates. It is accurate for the 50 year period, including the 2,996 people who died on 9/11/2001. He even tracks down Lucinda's daughter and granddaughter to find out about Lucinda's gift of prophecy. He does figure out the part Lucinda didn't finish. The sheet of numbers ends with a backwards EE. It is discovered that the EE represents "Everyone Else", the end of the world. That leads me to my main problem with this movie:

I certainly didn't expect it to be a 'religious' movie, and early on, John Koestler states that he is not sure there is a heaven, but have you ever heard the expression "there are no atheists in foxholes"? The government discovers the same information that Koesler has discovered, and they broadcast a warning, telling people to flee underground (the warning has to do with the sun). I would have expected at least some people to turn to prayer, but Koestler is sort of playing God thinking he can stop this, and most of the people shown are simply trying to save themselves. Only a few people are helping others, and no one mentions praying or turning to God, which would be a natural reaction to facing the end of the world. The closest anyone comes to that is Koestler's father, a minister, who simply says when it's his time, it's his time.

I really did like 'Knowing'. There is plenty of action, and the special effects are spectacular.


http://www.knowing-themovie.com/

Book Review: A Long Way Down

A Long Way Down, written by Nick Hornby, who also wrote Fever Pitch, About A Boy, and High Fidelity, is told from the perspectives of four people who happen to meet on New Year's Eve on the roof of the Toppers' House--intending to jump to their deaths. Each of them has a different reason: Martin, a former TV morning talk show host who was convicted of statutory rape; Maureen, who is the sole caretaker of her severely-disabled adult son (and has been for his entire life); J.J., a musician and the only American, who has broken up with both his band and his British girlfriend (and is mostly upset about the breakup of his band); and Jess, a seriously messed-up young woman with no impulse control whatsoever.

Maureen arrives on the roof as Martin is sitting on the edge, smoking, and contemplating his final act. When Jess rushes up to the roof, heading straight for the edge, Martin tackles her, and he and Maureen pin her down to prevent her from committing suicide. J.J. arrives with a pizza. The story follows them around as they form an unlikely bond and learn how each of them happened to arrive on the rooftop that fateful night.

And, in their own warped ways, they try to solve the problems that brought them to the edge, although it's not that each individual tries to fix what's wrong in their own life. That wouldn't be funny enough. Three of them try to fix the problems of the fourth, in a kind of rotation, although Jess is usually the catalyst.

There is definitely a British sensibility to all of this, along with the black humor. And some very substantial issues are discussed: what does it mean to be a mother, a father, a husband? What obligations does one individual have to another? How do the mundane, everyday choices one makes in life affect what happens later? What is one willing to sacrifice for love? How does one define oneself? How do subjects left undiscussed come back to haunt?

The story alternates among the first-person voices of each of the characters and very often key events are told from several different perspectives. Each voice is clearly labeled and has its own vocabulary and tone, so you know who is speaking. Mr. Hornby makes this technique work and it serves the story well.

The ending is pretty true to life: rather vague and open-ended. The characters are not the same people they were at the beginning, yet the changes are subtle. Each has moved out of the small circle of themselves and been forced into a wider world. Overall, they still are who they are, but their perspective has changed. And isn't that what happens to most of us over time?

On the March Hare scale: 3.5 out of 5 Golden Bookmarks.

crossposted at the Mad Tea Party

Natasha Richardon dies from skiing accident

Daughter of legendary stage actress Vanessa Redgrave, Natasha Richardson has just died from a head injury which happened during a skiing lesson in Quebec. Liam Neeson, her husband of 14 years, was filming 'Chloe' in Toronto.

I first admired them in their sensistive performances in "Nell" and have enjoyed their different roles ever since(Parent Trap, Maid in Manhattan). They were married in a Catholic Mass in their home in upstate New York in 1994, the year they appeared in "Nell" which explains their dynamic onscreen chemistry. Natasha had her mother's flair for drama and a touch of class one rarely sees in Hollywood. May she rest in peace.

Liam Neeson has recently narrated the Way of the Cross with his resonant Northern Irish brogue to benefit the Redemptorists. According to Catholic News Service:

“I had heard about the Redemptorists and their missionary work in the Amazon rain forest of Brazil and in the slums of Lagos and Ibadan, Nigeria,” Liam Neeson said in a press release. “I was moved to help because the Redemptorists are living the Gospel message in some of the poorest parts of the world, offering hope to families who have been forgotten or abandoned.”

The couple have two sons.

May God help them through this tragedy.

Catholic Heroes of the Faith - Animated DVD Series

“Catholic Heroes of the Faith” is a new, animated DVD series which presents true stories of people who have made a lasting impression on others by their example of service to Christ and His Church.

These heroes have lived truly great lives—lives marked by moral depth, strength of character, physical courage, and an unswerving commitment to Christ and His Church.

By seeing how they struggled to serve Christ and his Church, and how they succeeded so gloriously, we are all challenged to live lives like theirs. Pope Benedict XVI has said of the saints, that we look to their “shining example to reawaken within us the great longing to be like them; happy to live near God, in his light, in the great family of God's friends. Being a Saint means living close to God, to live in his family. And this is the vocation of us all.”

Geared primarily to children ages 8-12, each episode uses traditional animation to entertain and inspire children and their parents and anyone who wants to know about the great Catholics of the past.

Each DVD also features:

* Activity guide for church, school or home use
* Parent’s and teacher’s guide for church, school or home use

This animated series is an excellent resource for parochial schools, CCD classes and home schooling.

And don’t forget to check out our documentary section! A great resource for Catholic high school religion classes and RCIA programs.

Their first dvd features St. Perpetua. I am a sucker for the stories of St. Perpetua and St. Felicity and this looks good. Also, (and here's the one that piques my interest) Mike Aquilina does the documentary about St. Perpetua. I am not sure it can get much better than that. Check it out.

Coming Attraction: Earth

An incredible looking trailer. No one raised in our family could ever not appreciate nature in all its myriad forms. Which might explain why my mother's love of nature has culminated in Hannah's love of all life (yes, even in cockroaches as she tells me, though she draws the line at actually stopping them from being killed ... she is also a Texan after all). We don't have cable or I would definitely watch Planet Earth, the show that this is based on.

According to a press release I received:

We are working with Disney on their new Nature Division, and they are releasing their first movie this April (April 20th), called “Earth”, which is based off Discovery’s award-winning series “Planet Earth”. The movie is 90 minutes, narrated by James Earl Jones, and the footage is the best of Planet Earth. I watched it in NY last week and there are “no” hints of evolution or policy debate – it’s not an agenda film. The film is pretty intense, like the series, and is INCREDIBLE. It really demonstrates the beauty and magnificence of God's creation.

I am a big fan of the Earth, though not such a fan of Earth Day as it tends to become a religious observance for avid environmentalists. However as a day to recognize God's glorious creation and His expression of diversity, the likes of which we would be unlikely to imagine much less attempt ourselves, I can support it entirely.

I see no reason why this movie shouldn't live up to this trailer and eagerly await it.

Movie Review: Watchmen - R

cross-posted from A Catholic View

'Watchmen' focuses on a group of retired super heroes, one of which, the Comedian, is murdered at the beginning. Another one of the heroes, Rorschach, is trying to find out who did it.

Even though it takes place in an alternate 1985, it felt like the 1970's...Nixon is President (still better than Barry :), there is a big anti-war movement going on, and a few 70's songs were played. The world is moving closer to nuclear war and human annihilation. It is believed that the only one who can prevent it is Dr. Manhattan, a god-like hero who I thought resembles the Silver Surfer from the Fantastic 4 movie. Because Mr. Manhattan has given a couple of people cancer, he leaves earth and ends up on Mars. (The 'truth' of this is revealed later).

Although this movie is somewhat 'dark' and potentially depressing, I found it more thought-provoking. There are several 'plots' occurring at once: will Mr. Manhattan save earth? will Rorschach find out who killed the Comedian? And there is a developing relationship between two of the heroes. Overall, I really liked it, but....

Content Warnings: There were more than a few violent scenes that contain blood and gore. For example, a scene where someone's hands are cut off. There was also a scene with two women kissing. There was a scene of attempted rape which I found pretty disturbing and a sex scene with nudity between two of the heroes. I did NOT expect the sexual content. I had assumed the R was for violence or language, based on it being a superhero movie.


http://watchmenmovie.warnerbros.com/

Fr. Vincent Capodanno

cross-posted from A Catholic View

I received the following email, and I am familiar with Fr. Capodanno's story, so I am glad to help spread the word:

I thought you might be able to help us spread the word on Zachary Brakefield, a Catholic young man who is filming a movie on Servant of God, Fr. Vincent Capodanno. He has gotten the blessing from Bishop Peter Jugis and our pastor, Fr. Roger Ansparger of St. Michael's in Gastonia, NC. Below is the link to his website:



http://www.divineinterventionfilms.com/


http://www.vincentcapodanno.org/

Angels and Demons

I just received this press release.

On Monday, March 9, Catholic League President Bill Donohue will appear on “Entertainment Tonight.” Check your local listings for channel and time.

He will discuss the anti-Catholic agenda of the upcoming film, "Angels & Demons."

“ANGELS & DEMONS”: THE ANTI-CATHOLIC AGENDA

“ANGELS & DEMONS”: THE ANTI-CATHOLIC AGENDA

cross-posted from A Catholic View

Catholic League president Bill Donohue exposes the anti-Catholic agenda of “Angels & Demons” (the movie opens May 15):

“John Calley, co-producer with Brian Grazer of both ‘The Da Vinci Code’ and ‘Angels & Demons,’ told the New York Times that the former movie was ‘conservatively anti-Catholic.’ According to the Times, Grazer wants ‘Angels & Demons’ to be ‘less reverential’ than ‘The Da Vinci Code.’ Which means he wants it to be liberally anti-Catholic.

“Author Dan Brown says of his latest film, ‘It’s certainly not anti-Catholic.’ It sure is Dan. So could it be that he simply finds Catholicism fascinating, and loves to weave dramatic tales about it, harboring no animus whatsoever? The evidence suggests otherwise.

story here

Led by Faith

Led by Faith by Immaculee Ilibagiza
Those who read Immaculee’s bestselling book, “Left to Tell” about how she survived the Rwandan genocide, were riveted by the emotional strength she displayed, cowering in the tiny bathroom clutching her father’s red and white rosary, while homicidal maniacs chanted her name outside. They felt her freeze in terror each time a search was conducted outside the room where she was hiding with seven other women, and rejoiced when they emerged from hiding ran to the safety of the refugee camp. But, what happened after her rescue? How did Immaculee survive amidst the chaos left behind by gangs of Hutu murderers? Did she find out what happened to her family? How did her broken heart recover from such trauma?
“Led by Faith” answers these questions and continues the saga of one of the greatest heroines to emerge from the ruins of the 20th century. Like The Hiding Place, in which Corrie Ten Boom, forgave her prison guards in the Nazi Concentration Camps, Immaculee’s story in “Led by Faith” is that of love’s triumph over the tragedy of man’s inhumanity to man. The faith which sustained Immaculee in her 91 days in hiding, grew from begging for her life, to an intense struggle to forgive those seeking to kill her, and finally flowered into an intimate bond with God by which her spirit transcended her wretched situation. Her deeply personal relationship with Jesus and Mary was pivotal to her adjustment to everyday life without the support of her family in a country laid waste by genocide.
Though spared from death, Immaculee had to face further cruelty at the hand of others; she faced and forgave her family’s brutal killers, dealt with the needs and brokenness of other victims, as well as the cruelty of those who would exploit her vulnerability. She suffered moments of intense despair, begging God to let her join her family in heaven, when she heard God’s voice encouraging her to go on living. Immaculee sought a quiet room in a retreat house for solitary hours of prayer and mourning which healed her broken heart. It was a slow and painful passage bathed in tears, in which she grew into the exceptionally strong, loving woman beloved by millions. She became a conduit of love for her surviving family members, Mother Teresa’s orphans, her colleagues at the UN, and eventually her own husband and children. Immaculee relates her story with warm humility drawing the reader into her tender presence.

Immaculee is what the world, imprisoned in the isolation of Godless materialism urgently needs, a person unafraid to love God and her fellow man intimately without fear of rejection, with a powerful love which overcomes even hatred and unthinkable acts of savagery.
Buy Led by Faith here.

Our Lady of Kibeho

Anyone of the millions of readers of Immaculee Ilibagiza’s New York Times bestselling book, “Left to Tell” in which she relates the terrifying ordeal she endured, hiding in a tiny bathroom with 7 women, while the Rwandan genocide raged outside, is left with a burning question; where did she find the strength to endure those 90 days of torment? Her latest book, Our Lady of Kibeho is Immaculee’s answer to that question, as well as a personal account of the only Church- approved Marian apparition in Africa.

No one who knew Immaculee as little girl would have predicted her role in the genocide and its aftermath: Immaculee had an idyllic Catholic childhood. Raised in a picturesque village in the mountains of Rwanda, her devout parents, Rose and Leonard were teachers, and were widely respected. Immaculee’s earliest memory is of being rocked in her mother’s arms as she prayed the rosary. The young Immaculee lived a holy life of prayer, study and innocent play until at age 11, when she was confronted by a crisis of faith. Not wanting to burden her loving family with her questions, Immaculee suffered silently until the day her doubts were put to rest forever, when her teacher told her the story of Our Lady of Fatima.
The story of three shepherd children from Portugal visited by the Queen of Heaven captivated Immaculee’s imagination, and she convinced her friend Jeanette and her brother Fabrice to climb a local hilltop each day to tend their goats, where they prayed fervently for Our Lady to appear to them. Eventually the children grew discouraged and gave up their efforts, and were thrilled to hear, not a week later that Our Lady did appear to a young woman in Rwanda, in a convent school in a remote town named Kibeho.
The story of the apparitions of Our Lady at Kibeho has familiar elements to Catholics familiar with the stories of Lourdes and Fatima; simple children who receive the message, and are mocked at first by skeptical friends and authorities. Our Lady asks for increased prayer, conversion of hearts, and for a chapel to be built. But no other apparition gives such vivid detail of future tragedies to occur if the people do not repent. The prayerfully singing, rapturous crowd was abruptly silenced as the visionaries shrieked in horror at the visions of thousands of bodies hacked to death and rivers flowing with human blood revealed to them by a tearful Mother. All this is powerfully related to Immaculee by the tape recorder of her pastor, Fr. Rwagema.
The lives of Rwandans were deeply affected by the apparitions, with thousands of pilgrims, including Immaculee’s father Leonard, traveling for weeks on foot, sleeping outdoors with little food or water in order to pray, sing and learn from Alphonsine, Anathalie, Marie-Clare, and the other visionaries. A chapel of Our Lady was built and thousands learned to pray a special rosary commemorating the Seven Sorrows of Our Lady. Immaculee describes how, although she was not able to travel to Kibeho until after the genocide, the visit of Our Lady steeled her for what lay ahead,
”Mary knew who her son was, and from his earliest days was aware of the pain that awaited him(and her). Yet through all those years, she supported him with the love of a mother, standing by him while he was whipped, beaten and crucified And she was there for him when he drew his last breath. I realized that Our Lady, whose soft and gentle voice enthralled the visionaries, has rock-solid strength. It was the rock upon which I would build my faith in God, the strength that would sustain me through whatever sorrows life held in store for me.” P 97

Immaculee didn’t realize until days before the genocide destroyed her village and wiped out most of her family that she and her people were being prepared for unimaginable suffering. In this she joins the exalted company of the saints, who though close friends of Our Lord, suffered the darkness of man’s inhumanity to man and entered into the Passion of Christ.
Buy it here.

“ANGELS & DEMONS”: MORE DEMONIC THAN ANGELIC

cross-posted from A Catholic View

Bill Donohue is gearing up to take on "Angels & Demons", the sequel to "The Da Vinci Code"

Catholic League president Bill Donohue announced today the start of an educational campaign informing the public about the agenda behind “Angels & Demons.” The movie, which opens May 15, is based on the book by Dan Brown. This is the first of several news releases scheduled on this subject:

“Next week we will begin to make available to the public a booklet that I wrote on ‘Angels & Demons.’ It details the myths, lies and smears that are made against the Catholic Church. It also provides evidence of the anti-Catholic animus harbored by those associated with the film.

“Author Dan Brown and director Ron Howard are getting good at this. ‘The Da Vinci Code’ was replete with falsehoods presented as fact, and now the tag team is back again delivering a curious blend of fact and fiction. All done at the expense of the Catholic Church.

story here

"ANGELS & DEMONS”: MYTHS, LIES AND SMEARS