Colorado artist created image of Mother Teresa used for postage stamp
 | The commemorative stamp of Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta being issued by the U.S. Postal Service bears a Colorado Springs postmark, so to speak. The stamp was designed by acclaimed artist Thomas Blackshear II, who along with his wife, Ami, has made his home in the area for more than 16 years. The 44-cent stamp featuring the founder of the Missionaries of Charity will go on sale after it is dedicated Sept. 5 at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010 |
| Tom Brokaw endorses Archbishop Hannan's memoir |
Tom Brokaw, a veteran broadcast journalist and author of the 1998 bestseller, "The Greatest Generation" which pays tribute to World War II veterans, has recently endorsed Archbishop Philip Hannan's memoir, "The Archbishop Wore Combat Boots." The memoir of the 97-year-old bishop, the retired archbishop of New Orleans who served as an auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of Washington, recounts his involvement in many major events of the 20th century.
Thursday, September 02, 2010 |  | | Susan Boyle to sing for the pope |
Stars discovered on popular British television talent contests will perform for pilgrims during Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Scotland Sept. 16. Susan Boyle, who gained worldwide fame in 2009 after her performances on "Britain's Got Talent," will sing at a papal event, said Peter Kearney, director of communications for the Scottish bishops.
Friday, August 20, 2010 | | | Movie reviews: 'Eat, Pray, Love' and ' Nanny McPhee Returns' |
The following are capsule reviews of movies recently reviewed by Catholic News Service.
Friday, August 20, 2010 | | | Movie review: 'Ramona and Beezus' |
Though ostensibly set in a more-or-less contemporary suburb of Portland, Ore., the gentle, winning comedy "Ramona and Beezus" (Fox) occupies a nostalgia-tinted world so idyllic that you half expect one of the characters to announce, somewhere along the line, that a lovely family called the Cleavers just moved in next door. Traditional values and close-knit family relationships reign in director Elizabeth Allen's squeaky-clean adaptation of Beverly Cleary's best-selling series of children's books, the first of them published - viewers will hardly be surprised to learn - more than 50 years ago.
Friday, July 23, 2010 | | | Parish Boys Choir offers local concerts | The Paris Boys Choir (Les Petits chanteurs de Sainte-Croix), a boys' choir created in 1956 at Collge Sainte-Croix in Paris, will perform three concerts in Washington, D.C. beginning Saturday, July 24.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010 | | | Movie review: 'Inception' |
With "Inception" - an action film resting on a science-fiction premise - writer-director Christopher Nolan achieves a tour de force of spectacle and suspense. But, like many a less-sophisticated offering in the action genre, this ingenious brainteaser is rife with explosions and gunplay. The price of admission to this wild ride includes accepting that, by the use of a mysterious gadget, characters can enter and share other people's dreams as they sleep.
Friday, July 16, 2010 | | | Movie review: 'Despicable Me' |
Though he aspires to be the world's most terrible villain, Gru (voice of Steve Carell) - the character at the heart of "Despicable Me," an enchanting 3-D animated comedy - is, in reality, only a slightly wicked rogue who ultimately proves to be a softhearted hero. With an East European accent somewhat reminiscent of Boris Badenov, the comic heavy of the 1960s television cartoon "The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show," Gru occupies the kind of darkly gothic house the Munsters of roughly the same TV era might have comfortably called home.
Friday, July 09, 2010 | | | Authors tell story of remarkable black nun, but leave some questions |
Sister Thea Bowman was a remarkable woman, abundantly blessed with love, faith, intelligence, wit, empathy, devotion and intensity. She, in turn, bestowed these gifts on her family, friends, colleagues, and on a Church in need of the insights, integrity and spirituality of black Catholics. This biography (illustrated with stunning photographs) was published to coincide with the 20th anniversary of Sister Thea's death (she was only 52 when she died in 1990). Sister Charlene Smith, a Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration like Sister Thea, and journalist John Feister tell her story with affection and admiration.
Monday, July 05, 2010 | | | Movie review; 'The Twilight Saga: Eclipse' |
Though it sticks to a tried-and-true recipe that will undoubtedly delight the legions of enthusiastic followers who have made the franchise it extends a box-office blockbuster, "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" may strike less-committed viewers as occasionally over-familiar.
Thursday, July 01, 2010 | | | Biography succeeds in presenting full portrait of one Catholic justice |
Even though there are six Catholics on the U.S. Supreme Court - Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy, Clarence Thomas, John Roberts, Samuel Alito and Sonia Sotomayor - it is likely that if people were asked to name one, their guess would be Scalia, the longest-serving and most vocal of the six. In a profession where one's religious beliefs are often kept out of the public eye lest one be accused of allowing them to influence his or her jurisprudence, Scalia, a member of the court since 1986, has made no attempt to hide his Catholicism.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010 | | | 'Paintings on Silk' art exhibit at National Shrine |
"Paintings on Silk," an art exhibit of Christian beliefs rendered on silk, is on display through June 24 at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.
Thursday, June 17, 2010 | | | Sanctity and sacrilege: Catholic priests in film |
From Hollywood's silent era to today's summer blockbusters, Catholic priests have been a staple of the silver screen. In 1915, D.W. Griffith followed up his controversial silent classic "Birth of a Nation" with the ambitious epic "Intolerance," which prominently featured a Catholic priest administering last rites to a condemned man. Five years later, Bert Bracken would direct "The Confession," about a priest bound by the seal of confession to keep secret information that could save an innocent man from the gallows. A similar plot device would be employed by Alfred Hitchcock in "I Confess" (1953), starring Montgomery Clift.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010 | | | Movie review: 'Get Him to the Greek' |
Like his 2008 debut, "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," writer-director Nicholas Stoller's new comedy "Get Him to the Greek" Ð the raucous, frequently coarse tale of an unlikely friendship Ð features a few touching moments and some positive underlying values. But, as in the earlier outing, these elements are ultimately eclipsed, in this case by a combination of obscenity-laden dialogue and debauched, sometimes perverse behavior.
Thursday, June 03, 2010 | | | Movie Review: 'Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time' |
"Prince of Inertia" might be a more fitting moniker for "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time," the big-screen adaptation of a popular video game series. Although there's ample movement, thanks to hyperactive camerawork and frenetic special effects, those titular grains do not pass quickly enough through the hourglass.
Thursday, May 27, 2010 | | | Restored, expanded version of film classic 'Metropolis' rereleased |
More than eight decades after its premiere, "Metropolis" - the German silent film that set the standard for science fiction on the silver screen - has returned to theaters (and, come November, will be available on DVD) following an extensive restoration. This new version, including lost scenes and the original score by Gottfried Huppertz, approximates the original vision of its legendary director and co-writer Fritz Lang (1890-1976), showing off a unique visual style extraordinary in its detail and scope.
Friday, May 21, 2010 | | | Movie review: 'Robin Hood' |
Filmmakers can have myriad reasons for revisiting stories and characters that have captivated moviegoers in the past - all of which become moot if the new work engages on its own terms. Regrettably, that's not the case with "Robin Hood" (Universal), the latest collaboration between director Ridley Scott and star Russell Crowe.
Friday, May 14, 2010 | | | Movie review: 'Letters to Juliet' |
"Letters to Juliet" (Summit) is a good-humored, old-fashioned, multigenerational romantic comedy - set against the backdrop of a picturesque Italian travelogue - that will have daughters, mothers, and grandmothers pondering the same question: "Does true love have an expiration date?"
Friday, May 14, 2010 | | | Archbishop Sheen, famous for TV work, served for many years in Washington |
Father Charles P. Connor, theologian and Church historian, and the author of The Spiritual Legacy of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, recently addressed the Catholic Historical Society of Washington, speaking of Archbishop Sheen's years in Washington and his dedication to the priestly vocation. The sainthood cause for the priest, famous for his television and radio work, was introduced in 2002.
Tuesday, May 04, 2010 | | | 'Saviors in the Night' gets top award from Signis at D.C. film festival | A Dutch movie about German farmers who sheltered Jews during World War II won the Signis Award from Signis, the World Catholic Association for Communication, at Filmfest D.C. 2010, which concluded April 25. "Saviors in the Night," directed by Ludi Boeken, "celebrates the extraordinary courage of ordinary people who respond to their best selves in the worst of times," said a statement from the Signis jury that judged the film entries.
Thursday, April 29, 2010 | | | Movie review: 'Oceans' |
The second movie released under Walt Disney Studios' new nature label is even more ambitious and wide-ranging than last year's "Earth." Arriving in theaters on Earth Day 2010, "Oceans" (Disneynature) offers as many visual delights as its predecessor while making a surprisingly sophisticated, indeed metaphysical, argument for responsible environmental stewardship.
Thursday, April 22, 2010 | |
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