Faith and Film: Bridge of Spies

Movie review by Fr. Tom Condon, OP

The latest film from the great Steven Spielberg is “Bridge of Spies,” a drama based on true events, set in the Cold War era. “Bridge of Spies” tells the story of Soviet spy Rudolf Abel (Mark Rylance), who is captured by the FBI in Brooklyn in 1957. In an odd but true turn of events, James Donovan (Tom Hanks), a lawyer specializing in insurance cases, is asked by the government to defend Abel. It seems that the FBI wants Abel’s legal right to a trial to be upheld.

However, in the height of the Cold War, everyone considers Abel guilty and doesn’t want his legal representation to be too good. Donovan takes his job seriously and, to the chagrin of many, fights for the legal rights of his client. Donovan is reviled for his work on behalf of Abel, and his family is even threatened. No one can understand why he works so hard for a representative of our mortal enemy, the Soviet Union. The situation becomes worse when Abel is sentenced to 30 years in prison, rather than execution, which many Americans wanted.
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November 2, 2015

Las Casas Fall 2015 newsletter posted

Read the latest news from Las Casas, Dominicans in Ministry with Native Americans.

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October 30, 2015

Sister Elizabeth Marie Mason, OP (Caldwell) treats a goat to a carrot on a recent outing to Alstede Farms in Chester, New Jersey. Follow the Dominican Sisters of Caldwell on Facebook

October 30, 2015

Join sisters at Sinsinawa for prayer, celebration

SINSINAWA, Wis.—The Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa, Wis., invite all to join them in an Opening Ritual and Vesper Service to begin the celebration of the 800th jubilee year of the Order of Preachers at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 7, in Queen of the Rosary Chapel at Sinsinawa Mound. The prayer service will include music by the Tri-State Choral Society and guest preaching by Sister Megan McElroy, a Dominican Sister of Grand Rapids, Mich. A reception for all guests will be held in the foyer following the service.

For more information, contact Sister Priscilla Wood at 608-748-4411 or visit www.sinsinawa.org. Sinsinawa Mound, the Motherhouse for the Sinsinawa Dominican Sisters, is located in southwest Wisconsin on County Road Z, off Highway 11, about five miles northeast of Dubuque, Iowa.

If you are unable to attend in person, join us via livestream at www.sinsinawa.org/live.

Dominicans worldwide will observe the Nov. 7 opening of the 800th jubilee year. For 800 years, Dominicans have continued to preach the Gospel in word and deed. Today, thousands of sisters, nuns, priests, brothers, associates, and laity minister in more than 100 countries around the world.

October 30, 2015

‘Go underground like a seed so that something new may come forth’

Sister Margaret Galiardi, OP (Amityville) is a spiritual director and workshop and retreat leader whose passion is “the contemplative integration of justice and peace for people and planet.” To mark her 50th anniversary of life as a Catholic sister, she participated in a “vision quest” with a group of women in Inyo National Forest in northern California. In a recent article in Global Sisters Report, she wrote about her experience “going underground.”

Read article in Global Sisters Report