Sometimes I'm sooo proud of my church

Other times, however, . . .

. . . Father Manny Gallo, a thirty-one-year-old theology teacher with a shaved head and a goatee, addressed the [high school football] players—there were more than a hundred—before a recitation of the Hail Mary. He began by apologizing for the fact that, "because I'm a priest," he wouldn't be able to say certain inspirational words. "Jesus Christ will teach you two things today," he said. "The first thing is, when Jesus was carrying that Cross, defeat was not on his mind. Victory was on his mind!" The boys listened solemnly. "The second thing, gentlemen, that Jesus Christ can teach us is that weakness was not in his heart. So when you feel pain, when you feel like vomiting, when you feel nervous, when you feel that you can't no more, think about that."

Ben McGrath, "The Jersey Game"

The New Yorker (January 2, 2012)