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"We have lost transcendence," says Christianity and the Arts magazine's Marci Whitney-Schenck in a Chicago Tribune Magazine article about religious art. "When you go to the cathedrals of Europe, you're awestruck. You don't get that with contemporary churches. A lot of people have created art for their churches, but when we walk in we realize it's not very good art." But in both churches and synagogues, the magazine reports, art is making a comeback.

"Whatever the reason, The Cider House Rules has largely managed to remain below abortion opponents' radar scope, despite featuring characters who clearly favor a woman's right to choose," reports The Associated Press. A common answer is that the story isn't that popular—but honestly, that hasn't stopped protests before. In fact, sometimes it seems protesters deliberately target offensive but likely-to-be-unpopular shows so that they can declare an easy victory (see TV's "Nothing Sacred," "God, the Devil, and Bob," and films like Stigmata.)

"The scarcity of facts about St. Patrick's life has made him a dress-up doll: Anyone can create his own St. Patrick. Ireland's Catholics and Protestants, who have long feuded over him, each have built a St. Patrick in their own image," writes Slate's David Plotz. "Outside Ireland, too, Patrick has been freely reinterpreted. Evangelical Protestants claim him as one of their own." Mormons, New Agers, gays, and even tax-hating Americans have reinterpreted the life of Patrick. While Plotz's assertions about "the scarcity of facts" is a stretch (there's a lot more reliable information about Patrick than most other fourth-century figures, including his detailed autobiographical Confession), he makes a fine point. The point was also made on National Public Radio's "Morning Edition," as Patrick Rucker looks at Belfast's custody battle over Patrick's legacy.

The Washington Post columnist interviews M. Thomas Shaw, the Episcopal bishop of Massachusetts who's currently interning for U.S. Rep. Amo Houghton (R-N.Y.). Shaw, he says, serves as a reminder that "public service is an honorable calling."

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March (Web-only) 2000, Vol. 44