Your gift counts double until 5/31: $24,002 to go in our Easter Campaign. Please help now!
 Off the Record

unlimited views

By Diogenes (articles ) | February 10, 2010 2:16 PM

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.  

An appeal from our founder, Dr. Jeffrey Mirus:

Dear reader: If you found the information on this page helpful in your pursuit of a better Catholic life, please support our work with a donation. Your donation will help us reach five million Truth-seeking readers worldwide this year. Thank you!

Easter Campaign:
Progress toward our Spring 2013 goal ($24,002 to go):
$80,000.00 $55,997.55
30% 70%
Sound Off! CatholicCulture.org supporters weigh in.

All comments are moderated. To lighten our editing burden, only current donors are allowed to Sound Off. If you are a donor, log in to see the comment form; otherwise please support our work, and Sound Off!

Show 2 Comments? (Hidden)Hide Comments
  • Posted by: patriot6908 - Feb. 10, 2010 4:54 PM ET USA

    That explains the earthquake (3.8) here in Chicago at 4a.m. this morning. But I am not sure if it was a sign of divine displeasure or of joy?

  • Posted by: Don Vicente - Feb. 10, 2010 4:29 PM ET USA

    But this is very OLD NEWS. According to her bio in Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Hathaway_(actress), this happened when the 27 y.o. actress was FIFTEEN -- right after she thought of being a nun... In the spirit of ecumenism, all I can say is "Oy Vey!"

Think with the Catholic Leaders: Subscribe to Catholic Culture Insights Newsletter
Donate to Support this Site: Your contribution will be put to good work.
Tour the CatholicCulture.org Site
Shop Amazon to Raise Money for Catholic Culture

Recent Catholic Commentary

The Rise and Fall of the (American?) Church 9 hours ago
The Ideal of Pope Francis: the Servant Church 17 hours ago
The sad decline of self-government May 22
That impromptu exorcism again May 22
The Mystery of the Spirit May 21

Top Catholic News

Most Important Stories of the Last 30 Days
Pope strongly supports call for reform in religious life CWN - May 8