--When I waxed enthusiastic to a friend about seeing this movie she said ldquo How can you be so rapturous about a film about a suicide rdquo But suicide is not what the film is about Nor does one come away from the film feeling depressed mdash just the opposite The goodness of Solo and his

The very talented Judge Sonia Sotomayor President Obama s choice for Supreme Court justice is as you ve probably heard a Roman Catholic and the product of Catholic schooling nbsp As a result the unfortunate question How Catholic was bound to come up nbsp Frankly the only person who can

Perhaps only the estimable Dave Gibson Beliefnet and ahem Commonweal blogger and author of The Rule of Benedict could see--and make--the connections between Carrie Prejean the controversial Miss California Queen Esther the biblical heroine Katharine Harris and Sarah Palin nbsp Gibson

More on our online Culture page nbsp Here s a smart and funny review about a smart and funny show 30 Rock written by Jake Martin a Jesuit scholastic who used to be a stand-up comic nbsp nbsp nbsp Martin no relation other than being my brother Jesuit explains why the show is more than

William Saletan has a nuanced nbsp article on Slate about what Obama s visit to Notre Dame the source of seemingly unending controversy nbsp Here s Saletan Smart pro-lifers understand the multidimensionality of public opinion That s why in his introduction of Obama Notre Dame s president t

Dan Gilgoff of US News has the inside story on the reception into the Catholic church of Newt Gingrich nbsp nbsp nbsp An excerpt The moment that finally convinced me to convert was when Benedict XVI came here to the United States and Callista in the church choir sang for him at the vesper

Beliefnet asked a few people to write a prayer for those facing hard economic times nbsp Here is what I wrote nbsp Maybe it will help you nbsp or someone you are close to nbsp The rest are here Please O my God I know that you nbsp love me And I know that you want me to be happy safe and secu

Here is the estimable Ken Woodward of Newsweek on the lessons to be drawn from Obama s visit to ND The message of Notre Dame is that thoughtful Catholics wish this president well They will work with him if he will work with them The courtesies of the president s day at Notre Dame were a reassur

Here s a rather lively discussion on the new Ron Howard movie Angels amp Demons along with some um nbsp impassioned listeners on NPR James Martin SJ

Rather than editorializing I ll just give you the entire story from CNS nbsp There were two stories in the latest L Osservatore Romano the official Vatican newspaper nbsp One praised him for seeking common ground the other quoted critics of the president nbsp Here s the take from CNS nb