FILMS AND BOOKS

I met George Weigel last year when he came to the Valley to speak about how the KGB tried to suborn John Paul II, if that were even possible. I told him that I read his book, “Against the Grain,” and it totally revolutionized my view of Just War Theory. He seemed surprised that someone had actually read, and, understood a book of his. I read another one that he released in 2013 (our review schedule is full, but I insisted anyway), “Evangelical Catholicism,” and decided that this one simply blew me away, as the old cliché goes.

Pro-life leaders from around the Diocese of Phoenix were treated to a preview Dec. 13 of “Gimme Shelter,” a film that chronicles the story of Apple Bailey, a young girl who flees from her drug-addicted, prostitute mother and seeks help from her biological father.

Television program notes from Catholic News Service and EWTN tips viewers off to relevant Christmas programming through movies, Masses and music.

Television program notes from Catholic News Service and EWTN tips viewers off to relevant Advent and Christmas programming including musical tributes and films.

Sure, department stores are putting up decorations and the radio might be playing the right music, but the best way to get into the...

NEW YORK (CNS) -- Parents be warned: Your kids will want you to revise the Thanksgiving dinner menu once they see "Free Birds" (Relativity),...

While it’s often referred to as “the civil rights movement,” the network that promoted the equal treatment of all human beings is actually a series of movements. “Lee Daniels’ The Butler,” which tells the story of a White House servant, fleshes out some of those complexities.

Since the advent of cinema in the late 1800s, faith has been treated on film in a wide variety of ways, from the respectful to the satiric. With the church's observance of the Year of Faith continuing, here in alphabetical order are capsule reviews of 10 films that engage with this often elusive topic in an accomplished and illuminating manner. Sometimes directly, in other cases only by subtle implication, these screen parables provide viewers with insights into the nature of faith — as well as its effects.

He’s a rockstar, literally bigger than life. His red cassock glows with the love of the Church. He’s a small town boy made good, real good, and this year he sat down with one-hundred and fourteen other cardinals to elect a new pope after Benedict XVI abdicated due to poor health, AND, he was elected president of the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops.

We’ve all read and heard the story of 12-year-old Jesus accompanying Mary and Joseph to Jerusalem for the annual Passover feast (Luke 2:41-52). Like any party with a whole gaggle of friends and relatives, even the best of parents lose track of their kids.