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Shia LaBeouf may be emerging from a month of bad press over his involvement with (and exit from) “Don’t Worry Darling,” but the actor is able to take solace in his newfound faith. LaBeouf recently starred in “Padre Pio,” a new Abel Ferrara film that sees him portraying the eponymous monk who famously exhibited stigmata throughout his life. LaBeouf converted to Catholicism while working on the film (which may have contributed to his recent apologies for his past behavior) and credits his experiences attending traditional Latin Mass services with inspiring him to believe. LaBeouf elaborated about his interest in Latin Mass in a new appearance on the Catholic web series “Bishop Barron Presents,” which is hosted by Bishop Robert Barron, the current bishop of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester. He...

As for you, do not be called ‘Rabbi.’You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers. Now it is not only clear from this text (Matthew 23:8), but I have had it on authority from multiple sources that the word ‘Rabbi’ means ‘teacher.’ Hence the King James version of this same passage reads, And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ. Now, what exactly is Our Lord saying here? Is this a case of Our Lord using hyperbole as he was sometimes known to do (e.g. “And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee”). So under this interpretation, he might be saying, Don’t get puffed up and arrogant because of your various titles, especially those that indicate that you might have some kind of wisdom! Or perhaps, along the same l...

“If he should try to indict me, I think I would find his weak spots and the talk in court would be about him rather than about me.” Plato, Euthyphro “The ear that listens to life-giving reproof will dwell among the wise.” Proverbs One reason to read great works is the opportunity to identify in the lives portrayed characteristics we want to have, as well as those we should avoid. Our reading can prompt self-examination, bringing to our attention what otherwise we would not see. Plato’s dialogues are masterpieces in this vein. With my students I just re-read the dialogue Euthyphro, named from its main character, a man with a reputation for being wise and good. The reader soon discovers that while Euthyphro is serious about doing what is right, he has a notable flaw. This flaw perhaps most c...

ROME – This week’s death of former Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev at the age of 91 has triggered an avalanche of commentary and tribute around the world, mostly focusing on Gorbachev’s role in the peaceful dissolution of the Soviet system for which he received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990. A sidebar to the story that probably deserves more prominence than it’s received, however, is that the Mikhail Gorbachev the world is now lauding, meaning the reformer and change agent, arguably never would have come to be without the moral and political pressures on the Soviet system created by Pope John Paul II. Let’s recall the tick-tock in the Gorbachev story. Born in 1931, for most of his career Gorbachev followed the path of the typical Soviet apparatchik. He became a member of the Community Par...

Jesus sounds like a dangerous extremist on the 23rd Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year C,when he says we have to hate our family — and even our own lives — to follow him. But he also gives us the perfect analogy to understand why he is not asking something crazy and wrong. In fact, Jesus is not the extremist, we are, and Jesus calls us out. We already reject our families for things far less important than God. “If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple,” says Jesus in this Sunday’s Gospel, from Luke. As in his account of the Beatitudes, Luke likes to share the most emphatic expressions of Jesus. In Matthew, Jesus says, “He who loves father or mother … son or daughter more than me is not wo...