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BOLOGNA, Italy –  It was a heart-wrenching story that bitterly divided Catholics and Jews in Italy and provoked an international scandal more than 150 years ago.

OTTAWA – The Catholic WomenöÏÓãÊÓƵapp League (CWL) and the Council of Canadians with Disabilities (CCD) have condemned the Global TV mini-series Mary Kills People about a doctor who illegally euthanizes consenting patients.

For those suffering from a frail, forgotten or non-existent belief in God, the HBO mini-series The Young Pope has a message that may change some minds, says Sr. Helena Burns.

NEW YORK – Behind the opening credits of "The Young Pope," a naked baby boy crawls over a sea of infant mannequins, and a man dressed as the Roman pontiff emerges at the other end.

I have long been an ardent fan of Martin ScorseseöÏÓãÊÓƵapp films. Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Goodfellas, Gangs of New York, Casino, etc. are among the defining movies of the last 40 years. The directoröÏÓãÊÓƵapp Catholicism, however mitigated and conflicted, comes through in most of his work.

WASHINGTON – Actor Andrew Garfield underwent the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus, as part of his preparation for playing a Jesuit priest in Martin Scorsese's new film, "Silence."

Like E.T., Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Independence Day, and a host of similar films over the past 30 years, Arrival explores the theme of an alien visitation to Earth.

NEW YORK – Directed and co-written (with Jay Cocks) by Martin Scorsese, Silence (Paramount) is a dramatically powerful but theologically complex work best suited to viewers who come to the multiplex prepared to engage with serious issues.

CHICAGO, Ill. – Two Emmy Awards have gone to a documentary that shows St. John Paul IIöÏÓãÊÓƵapp central role in the end of communism.

NEW YORK – With "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story," last year's promising reignition of the iconic franchise, "The Force Awakens," gains a worthy – and equally family-friendly – companion.