I see that you are again one of the speakers at the Los Angeles Religious Education Congress in Anaheim in late February. You’ve been a “headliner” at big Catholic gatherings like L.A. Congress for several decades. Have you ever thought of yourself as a Catholic celebrity?
I once gave a conference on the topic of “From Saints to People Magazine,” where I talked about growing up being taught the lives of the saints, and how that has changed today into our looking at the famous faces in People magazine.
There’s a fundamental culture shift, or ethos, where our celebrities are now the rich, the famous, the beautiful, the achievers. Cultural icons are pop stars and athlete stars. I just saw the other day that we have a new “sexiest man in the world.” I think we’ve moved to an ethos where celebrity means those things. We’ve moved a bit from substance to appearance.
When I was a kid, the heroes fed to me were very different from what’s fed today. They had to have a persona of being humble, and also moral. I suppose journalists knew that certain athletes were playboys, but what was presented to us was always clean and monogamous.
The heroes of movies were all presented as moral and decent. Integrity and humility were essential, and valued.
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With thanks to the Focolare Media and Jon M. Sweeney, where this article originally appeared.
