John Foley

I’m not a fan of Pope Benedict. While I disagreed with Pope John-Paul on most issues, and am no longer a Catholic, the man himself seemed warm, kind and big-hearted. I thought it was an especially amazing example when he forgave the man who shot him and refused to share the details of their conversation…Pope Benedict, on the other hand, is now involved in covering up sexual abuse by priests and ignoring the pleas of victims. Long before this, when he was Cardinal Ratzinger, he attacked Anthony de Mello, a Catholic priest, writer and teacher whose work combines Christian teachings with Eastern and mystical wisdom. Cardinal Ratzinger tried, successfully for a time, to ban de Mello’s works, and the church continues to warn that his books are “anti-Catholic.” I think de Mello was a genius, and he had the courage to stand up to the church he loved and say, “You’re missing the point.” As both a young priest and psychologist, de Mello said he gave people superficial Band-aids for their troubles, but he later found a way, through Awareness, to provide a deeper healing. I strongly recommend his works.

A friend of mine can’t stand Brad Pitt and thinks he’s a terrible actor, nothing more than a pretty boy. I disagree, and I’m always mindful of the films he’s in because he’s starred in three of my favorites: A River Runs Through It, Seven Years in Tibet and, most recently, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. I resisted seeing the last film because I didn’t think I could suspend my disbelief enough to buy that, for Benjamin, life travelled backwards. Yet when I finally did see the film on DVD, I found it deeply moving — and so did my wife, Jules. I immediately watched it twice more. Here’s a segment of monologue that I particularly enjoyed: [Voice over; letter to his daughter] “For what it’s worth: it’s never too late or, in my case, too early to be whoever you want to be. There’s no time limit, stop whenever you want. You can change or stay the same, there are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. And I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope you live a life you’re proud of. If you find that you’re not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again.”