Our world
It will be five years come Monday that San Diego woke up to images of planes flying into the World Trade Center. Before our morning was over, we'd hear about more casualties at the Pentagon and in a field in Pennsylvania.
Soon afterward, the family that is America looked upward in a national day of prayer and remembrance.
But according to a new study by the Barna Group, a faith-based research firm in Ventura, the tragedy did not have a lasting impact on America's spirituality. “Despite an intense surge in religious activity and expression in the weeks immediately following 9/11, the faith of Americans is virtually indistinguishable today compared to pre-attack conditions,” the study found.
Still, in a new booklet titled “We Were There,” published by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, several priests who were on the scene say their own lives have been changed.
Among them is Father Robert J. Romano, deputy chief chaplain of the New York City Police Department. Romano writes that he made three promises on 9/11: “to celebrate Mass and the Sacraments at the site until the recovery and cleanup were finished, and to bless and walk out of the 'pit' the bodies of every one of our police officers that were found. Two of these promises I have kept. I pray that I will be able to keep the third, to remember the deceased and their families so long as I have breath in me.”
South of heaven
Rep. Katherine Harris, who was Florida's secretary of state during the controversial 2000 presidential recount, is now running for the Senate under the conservative canopy of God and country.
In an interview with a Baptist newspaper, Harris, a Republican, cited abortion and gay marriage as examples of sin. And, according to Religion News Service, she said the separation of church and state is wrong “because God is the one who chooses our rulers.”
That may come as a surprise to voters who think elections are decided by ballots – hanging chads and all.
Culture club
This fall, watch for a new movie that depicts Jesus as a black Jew. “Color of the Cross,” from Nu-Lite Entertainment, is due to be released beginning Oct. 27.
Indie filmmaker Jean Claude LaMarre says he wants to broaden people's perspective. “I believe that Jesus was black,” he says. “Through other people's eyes, he may be white, Latino or even Asian. We want to convey that it is not what the messenger looks like that is important, it is the message itself.”
The last word
RAMADAN: Muslim holy month that commemorates the divine revelation of the Koran to the Prophet Muhammad. The month is marked by daily fasts from sunrise to sundown. It's due to begin Sept. 23, though the actual start date may vary depending on sighting of the moon.
