Why is it that these right-wing family-values guys are always the worst sinners? Newt Gingrich, Ted Hagee, Larry Craig and now Mel Gibson.

I think you mean Pastor Ted Haggard.

It is ironic that Salon would choose to highlight the fairly mundane and everyday problem of divorce in the Catholic Church, and the involvment of an aging actor, when the religious beliefs of Obama are so much more exciting and relevent. But if it will help, maybe we can force Gibson to adhere to your religious beliefs and family values- oh, that's right, you don't have any.

That said, the Catholic church is obviously messed up, and it produces some of the most violent and sinful leaders in the world -- Kennedy, Pelosi, and Robert Gates.

Why such a strange combination of liberalsim and Catholicism? Could it be the Pope is secretly a liberal.

Shhhhhhhh.

So, Mr. Gibson's religious beliefs turn out to be a bit silly and impractical? That's really not so different from anyone else. Hell, even atheists often turn out to have some silly and impractical beliefs (for example, many of them believe they can prove the non-existence of God!).

The real problem is the practice of belief, itself. 'Belief' is what people do when they don't want to try to figure things out for themselves. Instead, they pick the first ready-made set of answers that appeals to them, and hope for the best, because that's the easiest path. Sometimes their adopted set of canned answers leads them to make beneficial decisions, and sometimes it doesn't, but decisions based on 'belief' cannot be called rational decisions, because the believer isn't actually deciding anything for himself. He's just doing what someone else told him to do.

(yes, I'm feeling cynical today)

Every time I see that I laugh.

When they got together she was the one with a full time job and he was an occasionally employed actor.

"The real problem is the practice of belief, itself. 'Belief' is what people do when they don't want to try to figure things out for themselves."

Your definition of belief appears to be -- um, er - How do I put this mildly? It's just your own belief. I think this proves that sometimes we should rely on others for answers. Try a dictionary.

Whatever happened to that promising young actor Gibson was? For such an ostentatiously devout Catholic, he went Hollywood in a very big way. Violent action pics made his name, and he whored himself out for dozens to make his fortune.

I don't take any satisfaction in Gibson's marriage dissolving, but I must ask why in discussions of gay marriage, the self-appointed guardians of "traditional" marriage never ever mention divorce. It seems reserved for the privileged, so they can lecture about the "sanctity" of marriage between a man and a woman, or three or four women over a lifetime, I guess.

Gibson is a deeply unsympathetic character. Vatican II brought some needed fresh air to the the Catholic church, and it takes a real kook to denounce it as he has, such mild changes as Masses in English. When a multimillionaire like himself gets riled up about something that's been in place since the 60's.. well, it's a strange and nutty, aggressive reactionary thing.

I won't even mention the half-billion he made off of the (again, aggressively reactionary) Jesus movie, that bloody violent mess. Probably anti-Semitic as well; I have no stomach to sit through it.

Overall, Gibson seems like an unpleasant, bigoted, hypocritical millionaire, a throroughly unpleasant person who has a problem with gays, Jews, women, and anything but a fanatical Catholicism that is absolutely medieval. What a creep. I hope the long-suffering wife takes him for all she can.

You should do some basic fact checking before you write an article about Catholics.

Fact one: Mel Gibson can freely divorce or do anything he wants, since he is not Catholic.

Fact two: His Holy Family "Church" in the Agura Hills of Malibu is a heretical sect which is not affiliated with the Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

Fact three: His Holy Family "Church" is not recognized by the Roman Catholic Church.

A couple of questions are begged: (1)Who cares about Mel Gibson?; and (2)Who cares about the "Catholic" Church?

Mel Gibson made a few good movies - The first two Mad Max films, The Year of Living Dangerously, and whatever the name of the movie he did with Goldie Hawn (Actually, she made the movie good.). Thanks. Beyond that, he's just a guy in Hollywood, living a life. Ultimately, all refligious fanatics turn out to be phonies, so I suppose he is serving a better purpose now than ever before.

I grew up thinking I was a "Catholic." I went to "Catholic" schools all the way through college. Then, nevermore. It's amazing so many millions of people buy into it, when it's just a lot of authoritarianism and ritual. Hmm, maybe that's why.

Here's a quick lesson on all "Christianity": Jesus, whose real name was Yeshua, lived. He apparently was an extraordinary person, and was able to heal people and inspire them. The healing part may have been exaggerated. We only have some stories about him, that are now called "scripture."

What came after was a cumulative piling-on of ritual, theological winnowing, and expansion, with increasing levels of orthodoxy and control, leading eventually to the Spanish Inquisition. Today's "Catholic" church does what it can get away with. Burning at the stake is now just a wet dream, but the buggering of little boys likely still goes on in church basements and sacristies.

There is such a thing as higher consciousness. Thing may not be the right word, but the falsity of a religion does not the Divine unmake. It just shows the unmaking of men.

Kissling is a patsy for anti Catholic sentiments and bigotry and this fact is obvious from the intro where she associates homophobia, anti Semitism and traditional Catholicism into one group. (typical slight of hand and smear by the "catholic" Kissling)

What Americans need is not easier divorce but, more incentives from the state and community to stay together. Divorce is a selfish and destructive act that affects children, families, communities and the environment (i.e. the purchase of an entire new house hold's worth of material goods for one of the divorcees)

Like most leftists (materialists, individualists) they look to death and destruction to cure the pains of the human condition. She sees abortion as an act of mercy and divorce as an act of contrition.

God help us; this is the prevailing view within society...