doctrine

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Looking for the seven deadly sins in Christopher Nolan's version of "The Odyssey"

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Looking for the seven deadly sins in Christopher Nolan's version of "The Odyssey"

After watching Christopher Nolan's take on "The Odyssey," Father Dwight Longenecker remembered a comment Steven Spielberg made in a movie commentary while discussing how viewers react to symbolism in cinema.

The legendary director, a progressive Jew, was responding to comments that prominent crosses in "Saving Private Ryan" cemetery scenes suggested that the hero was a Christ figure who suffered to save a lost soul. Spielberg replied: "I'm always fascinated, to learn about the things people see in my pictures that I never knew about."

Now, faithful movie lovers are debating whether Nolan's Catholic background soaked into his version of Homer's pagan epic. For example, how did an arrogant, brilliant, pagan Greek warrior develop a strong sense of guilt about his mistakes?

"Nolan is coming from a Catholic background and 2,000 years of Western Christian tradition," said Longenecker, a former journalist and screenwriter who leads Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Church in Greenville, South Carolina. A former Anglican priest, he converted to Catholicism with his wife and four children.

"He cannot help but bring, quote, 'Christian sensibilities' into his understanding of the story, even though he may not have done it explicitly," he explained, via Zoom. Guilt is a human emotion, "part of what C.S. Lewis called the 'Tao,' a universal sense of morality, the universal sense of right and wrong."

Nolan addressed this issue with political philosopher Zhuge Yiyang, during an interview originally posted on China's Bilibili video platform. Another question: How did the doctrine of "atonement" for sin get into this movie? Nolan said his film stressed what he called "Zeus' Law," the ideal of "mutual respect -- that I treat you the way I want to be treated."

Nolan added: "I think in a way we may be bringing our more modern sensibility to that. Insofar as [atonement is] there, it's not a deliberate attempt to Christianize it, but it's an outgrowth … of burrowing in on this philosophical idea of what happens when you break Zeus' Law."

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Catholic bishop, in public letter, urges Pope Leo XIV to offer doctrinal clarity -- now

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Catholic bishop, in public letter, urges Pope Leo XIV to offer doctrinal clarity -- now

Cardinals, archbishops and bishops have many ways to communicate with Vatican officials and even the pope himself, outside of occasional personal meetings.

In the digital age, one blunt way to reach Pope Leo XIV is to write a candid letter and post it online. That's what Bishop Robert Mutsaerts of the Netherlands, auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of 's-Hertogenbosch, did recently.

"Holy Father," he began, with "reverence for the office entrusted to you as successor of Saint Peter, and in communion with the Church which Christ built upon the apostles, I address you with this open letter. I don't do so lightly."

What followed was one bishop's heart cry for the pope to speak candidly about why believers should cling to ancient truths, even while struggling with the riptides of modern life.

Peter, the first pope, "received from Christ not only the commission to unite the brothers, but also to strengthen them in the faith," wrote Mutsaerts. "Ultimately, the world gains little from a Church that merely repeats what the world itself already thinks."

After years of "synodality" meetings built on dialogue with modern Catholics and church critics, the bishop offered hard questions: "Not: how many reports were written? Not: how many people participated? But: has faith become stronger? Has Christ been proclaimed more clearly? Has Catholic identity deepened? Have more people come to convert? Is Sunday Mass better attended? Are there more priestly vocations? …Has greater reverence for the Eucharist emerged? Has the moral teaching of the Church become clearer? Has missionary courage increased?"

The auxiliary bishop's superior, Bishop Gerard Johannes Nicolaus de Korte, quickly distanced himself from these words, while debates continued online.

The context for the Mutsaerts letter is larger than headline grabbing debates about the use of the Latin Mass, bleak attendance trends in Western nations, Catholic politicians clashing with church teachings and same-sex union blessings in many European Catholic churches.

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Was British politico Ann Widdecombe murdered because of her Catholic beliefs?

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Was British politico Ann Widdecombe murdered because of her Catholic beliefs?

In her student days, Ann Widdecombe's first Oxford Union presentation was an attack on censorship, even if practicing free speech turned out to be risky or painful.

A half century later, the former Conservative MP and outspoken Catholic returned to the legendary debate club to address the same subject, at one point explaining why she once agreed to share a speaker's platform with an Irish Republican Army activist.

"So, you wanted to blow me up," Widdecombe said in 2019, referring to the 1984 Grand Hotel bombing in Brighton, England, that killed five people and injured 31. The target was Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and the assembled Conservative Party conference.

Widdecombe said the IRA supporter responded: "Well, I didn't want to do it myself."

Enemies of free speech are "snowflakes and totalitarians," said Widdecombe, in the brash style that made her one of England's most loved, and hated, public figures. "Nobody has the right to live their lives being protected from offense, or from insult, or from hurt feelings. It is an occupational hazard … and if you really cannot take it, become a hermit."

Widdecombe, 78, was found dead on July 9 after what police first called a burglary that led to murder. The case is now being investigated as terrorism. The accused attacker drove nearly 300 miles to her isolated Devon home, where he struck her in the head 21 times with a hammer during an encounter that appears to have lasted two minutes.

A key question: Was she killed because of her beliefs?

"She was the most prominent British Catholic politician whose faith actually informed her politics," noted philosopher Joseph Shaw, of the Catholic Answers organization.

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Anglican Church of Canada offers new liturgies to bless Medically Assisted Dying

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Anglican Church of Canada offers new liturgies to bless Medically Assisted Dying

Gathered near the patient, the priest helps the worshipers prepare for Holy Communion, using a new liturgy prepared by the Anglican Church of Canada.

The text offers this introduction: "We gather today in a space that may be foreign to us. There are sounds, lights, and activity outside of this room that can distract and take us away from this space. But God meets us here, in this time and place, a thin-space that is sacred. We gather as friends and family [and health care professionals] with our hopes, our dreams, and our differences.

"While some of us may not always agree with the choices of others, we are united in our common love and compassion for [name]. May we know the presence of God as we pray together. … May God's purpose steady us."

The Divine Liturgy text openly discusses tensions that loom over this rite, since it is drawn from "Pastoral Liturgies at the Time of Death in Contexts of Medically Assisted Dying," approved in June by the denomination's Council of General Synod.

The document's preamble tells clergy: "Medical Assistance in Dying evokes strong and opposing views amongst some persons and communities, including amongst health care providers and amongst Anglican Christians. Some Christians, including clergy, find that MAiD violates their understanding of the ethical values to which Christians are called. …

"The Anglican Church of Canada is not of one voice on the topic, but leaders generally are in agreement that the Church has a duty of pastoral care to all. … Regardless of how people arrive at the decisions they do regarding their end-of-life plans, all persons should be able to call upon the pastoral ministry of the church at the time of their dying."

The Medical Assistance in Dying option was legalized in 2016 and many Canadians -- over age 18, eligible for public health care, with a grievous condition and mentally competent to grant consent -- have allowed medical professionals to end their lives. At the end of 2024, Health Canada officials reported 76,475 approved MAiD procedures.

The Anglican Church of Canada is a poignant church to develop these liturgies, since it has already lost 75% of its membership since the 1960s.

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Memory eternal: Robert Sloan's final advice on Christian higher education

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Memory eternal: Robert Sloan's final advice on Christian higher education

Year after year, faith-based colleges produce waves of upbeat brochures, social-media appeals and videos for parents and their children.

The presidents of these institutions should study these materials closely, said Houston Christian University President Robert B. Sloan, Jr., at the January 2026 conference of the International Alliance for Christian Education. 

"All of the brochures in the world, declaring in glossy print the Christian claims of an institution, cannot overcome the failures of personnel to embrace, expound and affirm the Christian identity of the institution," said Sloan, who led Baylor University, his alma mater (and mine), before his 2006 move to Houston. "If the recruiting materials and fundraising newsletters do not match what really goes on in the classroom or in student life, you may expect not only disappointment but cynicism and, eventually, conflict."

Thus, presidents must have courage when hiring faculty, he stressed.

"When you hire someone," said Sloan, "you should never accept their mere consent, no matter how good their credentials are academically, to 'appreciate' or 'be sensitive to' your culture and character. I used to know of a situation where an interviewer would refer to the 'expectations of our constituents' and then ask, 'Are you all right with that?'"

Close is not good enough, stressed Sloan. It's crucial to learn, "Does the candidate want to be at an institution like yours? … Or do they simply want a job?"

Sloan's address -- 11 theses for Christian higher education -- was timely, after years of headlines about faith-based schools closing their doors as experts warned about a looming "enrollment cliff" due to falling birth rates. It was also symbolic because Sloan died on July 4, after suffering a stroke at age 77.

That plenary address "was the best presentation I have ever heard him give. It will serve as a guide for IACE and for all Christian higher education for years to come," said Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary President David Dockery, writing for Baptist Press.

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Baseball cap wars: Can the biblical rainbow coexist with a Pride Night rainbow?

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Baseball cap wars: Can the biblical rainbow coexist with a Pride Night rainbow?

After the great flood in the Book of Genesis, God offered a timeless symbol of hope.

The Bible says God promised: "I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever … the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life."

Nevertheless, clashing rainbow symbols recently created a storm in Major League Baseball when powers wielded by team owners clashed with the religious beliefs of players.

The big question: Can the biblical rainbow coexist on the same Pride Night baseball cap with the today's rainbow celebrating LGBTQ+ rights?

This controversy raised legitimate First Amendment issues, but also helped clarify the workplace rights of employers, said Hal Frampton, senior counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom and director of the group's Center for Conscience Initiatives.

The clash between MLB leaders and several San Francisco Giants pitchers "was about both issues, really," he said, reached by telephone. "It was about not being discriminated against" in the workplace, especially if there were questions about whether an employer was "enforcing a rule consistently," or only enforcing it when there was "religious expression that was seen as troublesome" to employers.

The firestorm began when Giants starting pitcher Landen Roupp, along with relievers J.T. Brubaker and Ryan Walker, wrote Bible verse references -- variations on Genesis 9: 12-16 -- next to the rainbow logo on their Pride Night caps. Relief pitcher Sam Hentges chose to wear his standard black-and-orange Giants cap, without the rainbow logo.

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Chris Pratt and Ben Sasse discuss family life, faith and Hollywood's idols

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Chris Pratt and Ben Sasse discuss family life, faith and Hollywood's idols

Superstar Chris Pratt was enduring a messy, painful time in his life when he was selected to receive the MTV Network's 2018 Generation Award, saluting his impact on popular culture.

Pratt decided to take a leap of faith, during his on-camera remarks.

"I'm going to say to this young generation the things that I want to say," he said, in a recent appearance on the "Not Dead Yet" podcast cohosted by former U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse and political analyst Chris Stirewalt. "God has saved me multiple times. I'm gonna put my money where my mouth is and stand on this stage and say this to these folks. And so, I did it."

The star of Guardians of the Galaxy, the Jurassic Park reboots and myriad blockbusters -- grossing more than $14 billion globally -- outed himself as a Christian. His advice included, for example, "Learn to pray. It's easy, and it's so good for your soul" and "God is real. God loves you. God wants the best for you. Believe that. I do."

This immediately fueled speculation about how his faith would affect his cultural clout. Then, in 2020, Pratt started Indivisible Productions, with a nod to the phrase "one nation under God, indivisible" in the Pledge of Allegiance. The company's mission is to "create entertaining content, focusing on themes which will help to bridge the growing divide in our country and world."

Pratt said it's hard to look at American life right now without feeling worried and grateful, at the same time.

"I've got to be careful about this because I love America," he said. "I believe in God's providence that, you know, we have something really extraordinary here. And I love Hollywood as well. I love movies." However, he added: "As human beings, our hearts are designed in such a way that we have a spot reserved in them to be in awe of God."

Truth is, he added: "I work in a business where we create idols. And we worship them. And no one is worthy of worship. And so not only do we create idols to worship, we create idols to burn. … It's not an indictment on the system that they would look at me and say, 'You know what, he said this, so let's burn him.'"

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Soaring Orthodox crosses at monastery in a holler in the mountains of West Virginia

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Soaring Orthodox crosses at monastery in a holler in the mountains of West Virginia

There is nothing unusual about turning a corner in West Virginia's maze of rough mountain roads and seeing churches with plain white walls and big porches.

But the new sanctuary at the Hermitage of the Holy Cross -- 10 miles of twists and turns into a holler outside the town of Wayne -- offers a variation on that vision. Its green-metal roof has domes resembling medieval Russian helmets, topped with golden cupolas and soaring Slavic crosses.

"When you go to the monastery you begin to think that you're driving off the edge of the world, but then you come around the bend and they've built this whole civilization up there," said Andrew Gould, the Orthodox artist from Charleston, South Carolina, who designed this church for a compound of log-cabins and rustic buildings.

The goal was to blend Orthodox tradition and the simplicity of the local culture.

"We needed people to see this building and immediately say, 'That's a church. That's a beautiful church.' It is always my goal to design churches that are linked to Orthodox traditions but still look like churches to people here in America, even in Appalachia," he said.

The church can hold 50 monks and 150 worshippers -- but the giant, wraparound porch can welcome twice that for feast-day celebrations and special events, especially on rainy mountain days.

"The porch was something we had in the plans, but it is serving a purpose greater than what we intended. It was something God intended," said Abbot Gabriel, 39, a native of Appalachia who converted to Orthodoxy in 2007 and became a novice in 2011.

"The locals have become more and more comfortable with our presence" even if some may not enter the sanctuary, he said. "But gathering on a big porch for food and fellowship, that's different. That's what the locals do. That's mountain hospitality."

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Another year on the religion beat: The great Russell Shaw on secrecy in Catholic life

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Another year on the religion beat: The great Russell Shaw on secrecy in Catholic life

In the spring of 1972, Catholic bishops gathered in Atlanta for an historic event -- their first gathering under a policy that would allow journalists inside the doors of their meetings.

Cardinal John Krol of Philadelphia, the conference president, promised to honor the policy approved by the bishops, which did allow many sensitive topics to be discussed during closed executive sessions.

"Cardinal Krol managed to get his own back, after his own fashion," wrote journalist Russell Shaw, in his book "Nothing to Hide: Secrecy, Communication and Communion in the Catholic Church." He served, with different titles, as press aide for the bishops from 1969-1987 and wrote more than 20 books and thousands of articles for Catholic and mainstream publications.

"At the start of the meeting, after the bishops had prayed and taken care of preliminaries, the cardinal rose to speak. He spoke rapidly and at length -- in Latin! Nervous coughing and shuffling of papers could be heard from the press section."

Eventually the cardinal faced the journalists, with what Shaw called a "wicked grin." Krol quipped: "We told you we'd let you in. We didn't tell you what language we'd speak."

Krol was a conservative, but progressives have used similar tactics. I once asked Cardinal Joseph Bernardin of Chicago, after tense debates about the morality of nuclear weapons, if several bishops -- by switching to Latin at key moments -- had "launched a preemptive strike" on newspaper headline writers. He smiled and said, "Yes."

This past week marked the start of my 38th year writing this "On Religion" column, and I spent 20 years leading GetReligion.org, a website that critiqued mainstream coverage of religion news. Over the decades, I had many encounters with Shaw and his January death, at age 90, reminded me that choices made by powerful clergy, as well as newsroom managers, often determine what news makes it into print.

One story loomed over Shaw's career more than any other -- decades of hidden and then public scandals about the sexual abuse of children, teens and adults by Catholic clergy.