[wideawake]

If the movie (Breach)is accurate, he enjoyed having the special knowledge that the was the traitor all his colleagues were looking for.

That's the movie's take - but he was a spy for almost 15 years before the FBI even realized that they had a mole.

Also he was not a Christian so much as a fanatical "traditional" Catholic, going to a church where the congregation remains kneeling for the entire service, for instance.

Alas, I am one of those "fanatical traditional Catholics" who kneels for most of the Mass. Yet, oddly, I still consider myself a Christian.

In Breach Hanssen is portrayed as a frequenter of the old Latin Mass, but in real life he was affiliated with Opus Dei, a group that prefers the vernacular Mass and only celebrates the new (not the old) Latin Mass when the congregation is a very multilingual one.

They are probably better Christians than I, since they spend more time at Mass sitting down and standing up than I do.

[firebrand]

That was why I was careful to say the movie was anti-something--empty rituals of worship. I know there are many Christian Catholics. Some of my best friends, etc.

That is interesting what you say about the real Robert Hanssen. I never bothered to find out, and that is why I said "If the movie is accurate."

It was probably too complex to try to portray Opus Dei. Easier to go for the dramatic in a movie.

Thanks for your input.