unlimited views

By Diogenes ( articles ) | Feb 10, 2010

That wailing and gnashing of teeth that you hear is coming from Rome, where the news has just arrived: Actress Anne Hathaway has left the Catholic Church. She and her family quit as a group after her brother Thomas "came out" as homosexual. "Why should I support an organization that has a limited view of my beloved brother?" asked the star of Get Smart.

You may have been unaware that the leading lady of The Devil Wears Prada and Bride Wars had been a pillar of support for the Catholic "organization." You may even recall that she and her old boyfriend seemed, on the contrary, to be living the high life at the expense of American Catholic dioceses. Never mind all that. Concentrate instead on the reason for her departure: the "limited view" that the Catholic Church takes of her brother.

Actually the Church's view of brother Thomas changed not a whit when he announced that he is homosexual. In the eyes of the Church he is as he was: a sinner in need of redemption-- like Anne Hathaway and Raffaelo Follieri and you and me. It was not the Church but the Hathaway clan that adopted a different attitude after Thomas emerged from the closet. Future prospects are indeed limited for Thomas, and for Anne and her family, too, as long as they remain outside the Church. But that doesn't mean the Church takes a limited view. On the contrary, the Hathaway family has a limited view of Catholicism.

Anne Hathaway has-- surprise!-- become an Episcopalian-- even without benefit of an ordinariate. It's a nice neighborhood and the views are unlimited.