CNA Staff
The Catholic News Agency (CNA) Staff are a team of journalists dedicated to reporting news concerning the Catholic Church around the world. Our bureaus are located in Denver, Washington, and Rome. We have sister language agencies in Kenya, Germany, Peru, Brazil, and Italy. CNA is a service of EWTN News. You can contact us at news@catholicna.com with questions.
Articles by CNA Staff
Clash of the Titans a titanic crash
Apr 30, 2010 / 00:00 amMature teens and adults/morally ambiguous/Poor craftsmanship
Green Zone
Apr 23, 2010 / 00:00 amMatt Damon returns to the silver screen in a movie that calls the American conscience into question. The star of The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy, etc., plays a Chief Warrant Officer in the United States Army whose job is to search for Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs) in post-invasion Baghdad.
'How to Train Your Dragon' an enjoyably simple experience
Apr 9, 2010 / 00:00 amFrom the producers of Shrek and Kung Fu Panda comes the best adventure yet. “How to Train your Dragon,” based on the book by Cressida Cowell, takes a unique story and makes a unique movie. Unlike other animated films such as Shrek, which are filled with inoffensive humor that nevertheless only adults will understand, “How to Train your Dragon” is much more direct, sincere, and far less subtle. While the usual lessons about teamwork, never giving up on your dreams, and the value of seeing things through new eyes are present, they aren’t what make this film one of the best animated films of this generation. In essence, when it comes to training your dragon, what you see is what you get. And what you get is a delightfully simple, straightforward, and heartwarming childrens movie. The basic premise revolves around a young Viking named Hiccup who lives on an island in the North Atlantic. “We have fishing, hunting, and a charming view of the sunsets,” he says. “The only problems are the pests.” Dragons of varying shapes and sizes raid the island, steal the sheep and torch the houses. Though the Vikings have lived there for 300 years, all of the houses are new. And though every male Viking lives to kill dragons, poor Hiccup can barely lift a hammer in the blacksmith shop. To make matters worse, Hiccup’s father is the leader of the village, a man who can kill dragons with his bare hands. Hiccup longs to prove himself, so he uses his un-Vikinglike intellect to create new ways of fighting dragons. No one is more astonished than Hiccup when he actually takes down a Night Fury, the most elusive of all dragons. However, no one is more surprised than Hiccup when he discovers that everything they know about dragons is wrong. When the smoke fades, the fire breathing, sheep-snatching dragons are actually rather cute in their scaliness. They enjoy being scratched behind the ears and are afraid of dead eels.What follows is a charming adventure, not only in animation, but in story and plot development. Adding to the realism of the movie is the comically awkward relationship between the Viking father and his adolescent son who is nothing like him, the rather brutish courtship between Hiccup and Astrid, the girl he has a crush on who is devoted to fighting dragons, and the conclusion in which Hiccup faces the hard consequences of having lived up to his Viking heritage, engaged in battle, and emerged victorious at the cost of dismemberment. While the relationship aspect of the movie is more concrete and realistic than, say, the friendship between Shrek and Donkey, the outcome of the final battle actually carries more weight than the happily glowing almost-epilogue at the end of the film. And that realism is perhaps the most heartening aspect of the movie. “How to Train Your Dragon” isn’t critiquing society by creating a fairy kingdom with Starbucks on every corner, it’s not promoting a neo-hippie agenda on an alien planet, its not suggesting that we are burying ourselves in useless piles of junk. Instead, “How to Train your Dragon” is a good movie, as real as a completely fictional premise can get, and its rather innovative and charming in the process.While some (older children) might say that the film is meant for children ages 6-10, other reviewers have noted that scenes of animated violence and battles between Vikings and dragons may scare young children. The three year old sitting behind me seemed relatively unperturbed by the events on screen and spent most of the film trying to crawl into my row and say “hi” to me. However, for adults, the movie is just as appealing, cute, and heartwarming. “How to Train Your Dragon” has already been called “the best animated film of 2010” among a host of other lavish praises. Do yourself a favor and see this movie, enjoy the animation (though spending the extra money for 3D isn’t as necessary as in films like Avatar), enjoy the dialogue, and most of all, enjoy the cute dragon who steals the scene without ever saying a word. It’s the best $8 or $10 you’ll spend all year.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief
Mar 5, 2010 / 00:00 amOlder Children and Adults: Morally Acceptable: Good Craftsmanship
Vatican newspaper amused but disappointed with 'Sherlock Holmes'
Jan 25, 2010 / 00:00 amDespite its good showing at the box office, Guy Ritchie’s “Sherlock Holmes” has failed to impress the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, which echoed the disappointment of some reviewers who found the sleuth to be too "modernized." Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's protagonist is difficult to recognize "between one fistfight and another," the paper said.
Avatar
Jan 6, 2010 / 00:00 amOne of the most impressive epic adventures ever brought to film, "Avatar" is the fulfillment of a personal dream of James Cameron, director of Titanic. Cameron wrote the script for his new movie 14 years ago but the amazing technology “Avatar” debuts and establishes as a new standard for the movie industry only became available in 2005.
Fr. Emil Kapaun is focus of new Wichita Eagle article series and DVD
Dec 8, 2009 / 17:30 pmWichita priest and U.S. Army chaplain Fr. Emil Kapaun heroically saved wounded sounders from the battlefield of the Korean War and ministered to his fellow prisoners in a prison camp. His life, death and possible beatification are the focus of an eight article series and a DVD being produced by the Wichita Eagle.
New book focuses on pseudo-Catholic colleges and organizations
Sep 18, 2009 / 00:00 amDr. Anne Hendershott, a former faculty member at the University of San Diego has recently released her new book, Status Envy: the Politics of Higher Education, in which she explains that Catholic higher education is distancing itself from Catholic teaching in order to keep up with its secular counterparts.
Vatican paper delves into new Twilight movie
Aug 20, 2009 / 00:00 amIn an article entitled, “The Secret of Twilight,” the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano reviewed the first of the Twilight movies. The film tells the story of a lonely teen who doesn’t fit in and a young vegetarian vampire who has decided to abstain from human blood. Reporter Silvia Guidi begins by questioning the reason for the success of the movie, which “fascinates millions of people (not only teens, as there is also a Twilight fan club of moms).” “Bella—together with the fans of the series—has been conquered by the fascination with difficult love, which is worth the risk,” she writes of the main character. Twilight is a “maximalist” story capable of conquering readers and viewers by giving voice to the deepest expressions that are censored by contemporary culture, expectations of the human heart, Guida says. Reflecting on Edward Cullen, the vampire played by Robert Pattin, and Bella Swan, the teen who falls in love with him, Guida writes,“eternity is not only about living forever, but above all about living more, with an intensity that is unknown to ‘normal’ people.” Edward, she goes on, “has the reactions and feelings of a teenager but the maturity of someone who has lived 108 years. He doesn’t choose to be good, but he changes because of the example he sees in his adoptive father, the ‘vegetarian’ vampire Carlyle, and because of the encounter with his ideal prisoner” in the movie. In the background “are the separated parents of Bella, symbols of those who reject the ‘forever.’ To them…eternal love is only such as long as it lasts. Her father, Charlie, loves her but literally does not know what to say to her. Living with him means routine beer drinking, entire nights in front of the television watching sit-coms neither one of them like, eating in the car once a week, affection that is solid but unable to be transformed into real accompaniment in her life.” Bella, Guida continues, “loves her father but does not expect much from him. She experiences the kind of discouragement that imprisons kids when they ask an adult a very important question and get a generic or completely unrelated answer.” She also “sees in Edward’s loneliness her own unease: both are isolated, him because of his hidden ‘monster’ nature, her because she fakes interest in things she doesn’t care about: the cult of shopping, expectations for the prom, desperation over wanting to be in latest edition of the school magazine, chatting with her friends.” Both of them, when they are together, “are condemned to receiving special attention: Bella knows she is risking her life; Edward, in order to accept loving her, must consent to hiding his bad side. This is the exact opposite of the 'Just Do It' mentality of young people.” Rather, the characters exhibit an attitude that says if they can try, “the world is there, they only need to take it.” Reality “does not follow this law, as every fable teaches us,” Guida writes. “Cinderella knows she must leave the dance at midnight, unless she wants to see everything disappear and the carriage become a pumpkin, even seeing the enchantment of love end.” “The question is not so much why is Twilight so successful, but rather, how can a kid watch it with indifference?” Guida wonders.
Our Lady of Guadalupe ‘completely beyond' scientific explanation, says researcher
Aug 7, 2009 / 14:10 pmResearcher and physicist Dr. Aldofo Orozco told participants at the International Marian Congress on Our Lady of Guadalupe that there is no scientific explanation for the 478 years of high quality-preservation of the Tilma or for the miracles that have occurred to ensure its preservation.
Vatican newspaper editor to present new book on Pius XII
Jul 17, 2009 / 00:00 amThe director of L’Osservatore Romano, Giovanni Maria Vian, will present a new book entitled, "In Defense of Pius XII. The Reasons of History," at the Luigi Sturzo Institute of Rome on June 10.
Novelist’s Catholic thriller explores Church division in face of ‘secular spirit’
May 29, 2009 / 00:00 amA new novel by British author Piers Paul Read crafts a thriller story around terrorism, the 2005 papal election and the present-day conflicts within the Catholic Church. In an interview with CNA, Read explained how he drew on his experiences with liberation theology and “social Catholicism” to write his book, “The Death of a Pope.” In his latest fictional work, published by Ignatius Press, Read depicts the mysterious behavior of ex-priest Juan Uriarte, a former liberationist who is put on trial for possessing sarin nerve gas. As Uriarte’s murky intentions are gradually revealed, the plot follows multiple characters in venues ranging from London and the Vatican to an African hospital for AIDS patients. Read is also the bestselling author of “Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors” about the horrific plane crash of the Uruguayan rugby team.
New book offers novena based on Mother Teresa’s writings
Nov 28, 2008 / 00:00 amAs a follow-up to last year's New York Times bestseller, "Come Be My Light," Doubleday has released a new book highlighting Mother Teresa’s spiritual life through a nine-day novena based on her inspirational writings. The prayer offers insights into her exemplary life and her relationship with Christ.
Leading Catholic entrepreneur pens book on how people should relate to money
Sep 26, 2008 / 00:00 amMany in our society view money as a “necessary evil.” Instead, entrepreneur and author, Frank Hanna explains, “money is a gift from God that is frequently abused because of our lack of understanding of its proper use.” Based on ancient teachings and his own personal experiences, Hanna clearly lays out the meaning of money in his new book, “What Your Money Means and How to Use It Well.”
Render Unto Caesar
Aug 15, 2008 / 00:00 amOn August 12, Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Denver released his latest book, which focuses on a question of undeniable importance for Catholics in the U.S. but also around the world: What is the role of faith in the public square? Fr. Robert Imbelli, a Boston College associate professor of Theology, gives readers an insightful and well-written review of the archbishop’s book, which will be published in L’Osservatore Romano.
Render Unto Caesar: Serving the Nation by Living Our Catholic Beliefs in Political Life
Jul 23, 2008 / 00:00 amCharles J. Chaput, the Archbishop of Denver, has written a new book about Catholic participation in public life, where faith and politics intersect. Titled “Render Unto Caesar: Serving the Nation by Living Our Catholic Beliefs in Political Life,” the book will be published by Doubleday in August 2008.
Father Emil Kapaun’s cause for sainthood to be officially opened
Jun 15, 2008 / 10:00 amThe Cause for the Canonization of Father Emil Kapaun, an Army Chaplain who died while in a North Korean Prisoner of War Camp in 1951, will be officially opened on June 29. Father Emil Kapaun, a native of Pilsen, was ordained for the Catholic Diocese of Wichita on June 9, 1940. After serving as a priest in the diocese, Father Kapaun asked to be allowed to serve as a U.S. Army chaplain.
Interview with Mark Stricherz, author of "Why the Democrats are Blue: How Secular Liberals Hijacked the People's Party"
Jan 28, 2008 / 00:00 amIn his book, “Why the Democrats Are Blue: How Secular Liberals Hijacked the People's Party,” Mark Stricherz claims that what was once known as the "people's party" was changed to a party of secular and feminist values by a coup carried out in 1969. This hijacking can be discovered by a close look at the McGovern Commission, Stricherz argues. CNA had a chance to talk with him about his book and the dirty details.
Kudlow joins advisory board of Ave Maria Mutual Funds
Nov 2, 2005 / 22:00 pmA nationally respected economist has joined the Catholic Advisory Board of Ave Maria Mutual Funds.
John Paul II exhorts French to live and pass on the faith daily
Feb 19, 2004 / 22:00 pmJohn Paul II exhorts French to live and pass on the faith daily