tough cut for the mohel

In a Reuters story over the weekend, "Superman Returns" director Bryan Singer refuted the theory put forth by "The Advocate" that the man of steel is gay. The theory is partly based on the way Superman stands with his hands on his hips and seems to ignore Clark Kent's longing for Lois Lane. Singer told Reuters that Superman is probably the most heterosexual character in any movie he's ever made. We can get a good idea if the S really does stand for straight on Monday night when A&E airs a special about Superman which will have a sneak preview of the film.

I thought that David Waters was going to weigh in on the debate over Superman's straightness when I saw his article in the religion section of yesterday's paper. Instead, he brought up a new debate. Is Superman Jewish or Methodist? I didn't see that coming.

Waters' article mentioned a website that lists the religious affiliations of all the superheroes. I immediately looked up Batman and found out that he is either a lapsed Catholic or a lapsed Episcopalian. That theory is based on a storyline in the comic books that looks into the future and shows Bruce Wayne's Christian gravestone. Of course, I should have guessed that Batman and Robin were fairly religious people by Robin's overuse of the word "holy."

I kept reading the site and found a list of famous Catholics. I clicked on Gregory Peck's name because of a (kind of) close encounter we had with him two years ago during a family vacation in Los Angeles. We went to see the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, which had opened in the time since we moved away. When we went downstairs to see the mausoleum, one of the first crypts we saw was Gregory Peck's.