• The ‘Saviour’ Returns – Brian Singer, the director of ‘Superman Returns’, talks about Superman as Christ. Listen to the line Singer chose to keep from the 1978 movie, where Superman is told, “even though you’ve been raised as a human being, you’re not one of them. They can be a great people, Kal-El. They wish to be. They only lack the light to show the way. For this reason above all—their capacity for good—I have sent them you, my only son.” Light of the world, the only son sent to the Earth – sounds familiar? I was looking forward to this movie, and now it sounds even better.

I saw the DVD of “Karol: the man who became Pope” last night. I had seen it once before, but it was still just as powerful.

For the uninitiated, the DVD is of a two-part TV movie about Karol Wojtyla, the late John Paul II before he became Pope. It recounts his days in Poland as a young playwright and actor during the Nazi occupation (part 1), and as a clergyman during the Russian occupation (part 2).

Many of Karol’s Jewish and Polish friends are killed by the Nazis, and Karol himself survives several perilous encounters. One of my favourite dialogues in the movie happens when Karol finds refuge in the house of a devout tailor which goes something like the following:

Tailor: “We will win the war with love.”
Karol: “How can you say that when there are Nazis marching outside?”
Tailor: “Evil is temporary; it devours itself.”
Karol: “You mean, evil will eventually disappear but if love doesn’t win out, Nazis will just come back in another form?”

The tailor, acknowledging Karol’s insight, then goes on to hand him the writings of St. John of the Cross, which inspires him to enroll as a clandestine seminarian, thereby risking his life.

Faced with the two extreme and inhumane ideologies of Nazism to the Right and Communism to the Left, the young professor of Ethics, Fr. Karol Wojtyla, teaches his students to value and promote the intrinsic dignity of human life, and to respond to injustices with peaceful expression of both sorrow and defiance.

I think Karol’s insight is profound, in that it applies to every level of our lives. When a person, community or nation is provoked, there is a choice to either curse the darkness or to light a candle; to pay back evil with evil or to resist and break the cycle with love. There’s an important lesson still to be learned here, I think. I would recommend this movie to absolutely everyone (your local video rental store would probably have it)!

The question of whether or not ET’s exist is a very provocative one, especially among the people of faith. Personally, even though I’m an avid StarTrek™ and science fiction fan, I don’t believe that ET’s exist. I used to think it silly to believe that we’re alone in this humongous Universe, but having read about the strict and multiple requirements for a life-supporting planet (such as Earth), I think in the Time™ or possibily the New Scientist™ magazine, I no longer hold to that belief. Here are some interesting links I found on this topic:

• The Vatican Astronomer, Thomas Aquinas (Catholic theologian and Saint in the Medieval period), Benedict XVI (the current Pope) and their beliefs about Extraterrestrial life – I think you’ll find that the Church is open to the possibility.
• Ten Alien Encounters Debunked – Pffft. I knew that dodgy video about alien dissection was a hoax! (Really… I did…)
• Reasons.org – In the section relating to this topic, apparently “much fewer than a trillionth of a trillionth of a percent of all stars will have a planet capable of sustaining life”.

  What’s your opinion on this? As always, your comments are welcome and are appreciated.

• The Bad Catholic’s Guide to Good Living – this one looks hilarious! I somehow always knew Vatican would be the first to land a man (well, woman) on the moon .
• Gandhi and birth control – opposition of contraception being one the most distinctly Catholic thing, it’s pleasantly surprising to find that Gandhi agrees with the Church’s stance.