In Jerusalem, Jon Voight says Catholic roots fight Hollywood nonsense

Published: 2008-05-23

JERUSALEM (CNS) -- Academy Award-winning actor Jon Voight said the strong Catholic roots instilled in him by his mother have helped him overlook much of the "nonsense" of Hollywood. "It is a relief in Hollywood to have some spirituality," Voight told Catholic News Service in mid-May in the lounge of a hotel on the edge of Jerusalem's Old City. "You are protected from all the nonsense. You keep your spirituality by doing good deeds." After a period of spiritual-seeking in the mid-1980s, Voight said, he rediscovered the lessons learned as a young child from his mother and became involved in using his celebrity status to help others, including American Indians, drug addicts, the homeless, Vietnam veterans and farmers. He also has been a spokesman for almost 20 years for Chabad's Children of Chernobyl, a medical relief program for Russian Jewish children still affected by the fallout from the 1986 explosion of the nuclear reactor in Chernobyl, Ukraine. Voight was in Israel to show his support for the Chernobyl children's program.

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