By: Reyna Rodriguez The film Novitiate (2017) takes place in the crucial years of the Second Vatican Council reforms led by Pope John XXIII. These reforms were meant to connect the Catholic church to the modern world, though as highlighted in this film, it affected the lives of many religious figures throughout the world. The…

Christen “Lady Bird” McPherson is a high schooler from Sacramento whose family is struggling economically while she is struggling how to navigate life. Lady Bird is not your typical Catholic film. The film does not revolve around catholicism; it is a coming of age film about family, home, and growing up. Catholicism is usually in…

Nacho Libre is a funny family movie that many kids will enjoy. It has a bright tone as Nickelodeon Movies is the producing company. In part, it can be considered as a kids movie but can also help destress teenagers and adults. The humor throughout the movie personally helped destress myself and provided laughter in…

Catholic themes and ideas are present throughout many Hollywood films, especially in films that contain Italian culture. Catholicism has strong roots in the long traditions of Italian culture, and Italians are also extremely important to the Catholic faith, housing the father of the Church in the Vatican in the center of Rome. The Godfather is…

By: Delores Shackelford In Hollywood films, there have been many stereotypes, motifs, and a lack of universal representation within Catholic films. In Sister Act 2: Back in The Habit, the 1993 film displays new and old stereotypes in Catholic churches across America, starring actor Whoopi Goldberg, and young singer, Lauryn Hill. The urban twist of…

by Gwen Flatland From The Godfather, to The Punisher to the children’s game Mafia, the Italian Mafia has survived in the American imagination for many decades. There exists this fascination of character in Hollywood with the idea of the benevolent criminal: an Italian American man, who kills to protect his family and to make his…

Why do Catholics use a pipe organ in churches? The sheer size of the instrument alone is something to gaze at and the sounds it produces are something that you can feel echoing through your entire body. This is just one of the countless reasons why the organ has been incorporated into many religious events…

The number of Catholics in the world and the United States are decreasing every year and is starting to become a significant problem. If the Church wants to keep its numbers high, it is going to have to change the way they conduct their business. In this blog, data will be analyzed on how the…

The “other” side to the argument of homosexual relationships within the Roman Catholic Church By Zach Heimbuch I’ve always firmly believed in the saying “there are two sides to every argument”. I see the best method of coming to a rational conclusion is to hear out both sides, consider the opposition’s opinions, and form one’s…

Exploring the relationship between the indigenous peoples of Oaxaca, Mexico and the Catholic Church By Victoria Marquez-Gomez When I was four, my mom and I took a trip down to her hometown of El Paso de la Reina in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico. I’ll be honest, I don’t remember much about the trip, aside…