Cardinal Timothy Dolan and Stephen Colbert to star in Catholic comedy slam

Our take: Rev. James Martin, a popular author and priest will be moderating a panel entitled "The Cardinal and Colbert: Humor, Joy, and the Spiritual Life," this September. Martin expresses that perhaps this is "just what the Catholic Church needs" at this time.

"Being joyful does not mean that you overlook suffering or pain or even scandal." Martin noted that the Book of Ecclesiastes says that there is a time to mourn and a time to laugh. "In the Catholic Church we tend to mourn more than we tend to laugh. This panel is trying to help restore the balance."

Colbert is a lifelong Catholic whose spirituality was shaped in part by the loss of his father and two of his brothers in a plane crash when he was 10. The comedian credits his mother with imbuing him with a deep faith through all the trials. "She taught me to be grateful for my life regardless of what that entailed, and thats directly related to the image of Christ on the cross and the example of sacrifice that he gave us," Colbert told The New York Times earlier this year.

Read more about Cardinal Timothy Dolan and Stephen Colbert on The Religion News Service.