John Dougherty

2 weeks ago | americamagazine.org | John Dougherty

It’s summer, school’s out and the theater marquees are packed with family films. If you’re a parent like me, you will probably see every kid-friendly movie between now and Labor Day. With that in mind, I am going to use this month’s columns to reflect on the themes in a few newly released family films, and hopefully enhance your rainy day trips to the theater. The oldest and most tragic story in human history is “Us vs.

2 weeks ago | americamagazine.org | John Dougherty

“It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God,” Jesus famously tells the disciples (Mt 19:24). Often that’s interpreted as meaning that a rich person is too weighed down by possessions to embrace the spiritual life. But you could also argue that it’s because their soul is too tarnished by the sins they committed becoming rich in the first place.

4 weeks ago | americamagazine.org | John Dougherty

All of our Catholic Movie Club films this month have been inspired by Pope Francis’ life and legacy. As we come to the end of May, it felt appropriate to cover the most famous film made about his namesake: Roberto Rossellini’s “The Flowers of St. Francis” (1950). It is one of the most well-regarded Catholic films in history, appearing on the Vatican Film List and praised by major filmmakers like Francois Truffaut, Pier Paolo Pasolini and Martin Scorsese. It is also a strikingly simple film.

1 month ago | americamagazine.org | John Dougherty

In his first Sunday homily as pope, Leo XIV described his election as both a “mission” and a “cross.” Those words speak to his clear eyes and humility in the face of the enormous responsibilities he now bears. The election of a pope is a joyful thing. Being pope is the hardest job in the world. You couldn’t do better for a logline for “The Shoes of the Fisherman” (1968), Michael Anderson’s epic Cold War Vatican drama, written by John Patrick and James Kennaway, based on the novel by Morris West.

1 month ago | americamagazine.org | John Dougherty

The year before he entered the seminary, the young man who would become Pope Francis went to see a movie. That film, Federico Fellini’s “La Strada” (1954), moved him deeply and became his favorite movie of all time. Last year, dressed in papal white, Francis recorded a video . “As a boy, I watched many of Fellini’s films, but ‘La Strada’ has stayed in my heart,” he said. Throughout his papacy he referenced it in homilies, interviews and public addresses.