www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall A Tempered View of Mel's "Passion"

by Frederica Matthewes-Green

http://beliefnet.com/story/132/story_13284_3.html

Open letter on 'The Passion of the Christ'

By Dr. James Dobson

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=36973

Brian,

I think Ms. Matthewes-Green puts it quite succinctly. I know this is largely reflective of the Eastern view.

Nevertheless, if our sole objective was to love and worship that wounded soldier, and focusing on the pain he endured for us, as well as his objective in undergoing that pain, aided us in our devotion to him, who is to say he would become irratated with us?

There are many ways in which people progress in love for Christ. I think it's the goal that matters, not which path we take.

Logos Teen

The reading of the Passion Gospels at Matins on Good Friday stop short of the Resurrection. The somewhat morbid rite of extinguishing a candle after each Passion pericope is read only darkens the temple that much more.

Can we take this one step further and pretend that Christ never suffered?

I don't think Mel Gibson is trying to make an argument for the Stations of the Cross. He is putting into film one of the most horrid experiences we ever put someone through. This ruthless and tortureous ordeal is oftentimes ignored.

The many Son of Man sayings from Jesus Himself testify to this. As the Gospels progress, Jesus begins to lengthen and give more detail of how He will be handed over, unjustly sentenced, and ruthlessly suffer and die. The film, I believe, is not an attempt to give an Eastern or Western interpretation of the Passion (both including the Paschal narratives!) but a biblical narrative of the Passion.

Joe

And why would Mel's "Passion" movie look like the Stations of the Cross? Too much non-canonical material in the Stations.

There is much that is "non-canonical" [from apocryphal sources] in Byzantine worship; why begrudge the Latins the Stations?
I believe Ms Matthewes-Green -a woman I have high regard for- doth protest too much. Mr Gibson is making a film, not an icon, and he is trying to, as I understand it, reflect both the human-historical and the larger theological truths of the last hours of Our Lord. He is doing so in a manner fitting to the medium. Of course he is a Latin Catholic and I am sure the film will reflect this to some degree but it should be moving for any Christian, eastern or western [or northern or southern].

This article points out the evangelical status of this film: "Huge Opening" Seen for Gibson's "Passion"

Despite its relentlessly graphic images and its dialogue in ancient languages, the film also may be benefiting from an unusual marketing campaign in which Gibson has reached out to sympathetic Christian evangelical churches.

As part of that effort to build an audience for the movie, a satellite-broadcast "training event" will be staged in about 400 churches nationwide today, providing a "boot camp of information" about outreach opportunities, organizers said.

Gibson, who invested $25 million of his own money in the movie, was expected to participate in a live Q & A from Azusa Pacific University. The event is part of a yearlong collaboration between his Icon Entertainment and church groups to create grass-roots support for the film, which opens on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 25. Icon declined to comment.

In addition, Outreach Ministry Inc., based in Vista, Calif., sent out DVDs with the movie's trailer to "most churches in the United States," according to its website. And the Christian Booksellers Assn. is asking 2,500 retailers to consider selling tickets and posting displays about "Passion" in their stores.

"Everything about this movie has had an agenda � on the part of those who support it and those who don't," said one marketing executive from a studio not affiliated with the project. "That creates a very combustible mix that could reap significant box office results."

Among U.S. exhibitors showing the film, AMC Entertainment Inc. will be playing "Passion" in 150 theaters nationwide, while the Regal chain has booked it in 420 of its 550 locations. Church groups have reserved entire auditoriums for advance screenings two days before the release, said Dick Westerling, Regal's senior vice president of marketing.

The whole article follows http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm...latimes/hugeopeningseenforgibsonspassion

I post this with some trepidation, having learned all to well how some persons react if you imply that this film isn't the be all end all of religious cinema, but here goes:

In the December issue of US Catholic (a publication of the Claretin order) it was reported that a commision of the US Council of Bishops pre-viewed the film and voiced concerns that the film departed from the Church's interpretation of the Gospel accounts. Icon productions, Mel's movie company, threatened to sue the Council of Bishops if the commision made there findings public.

Shortly after a screening of the film for the Pope, Icon leaked to the press that the pontiff's reaction to it was "it is as it was". The Pope's personal secratery has publicaly stated that the Pope did not say this. Icon maintains that they have written permission (which they have not produced) to use the statement. In other words, Icon claims the Pope is lying.

I heard one woman refer to the Passion as a "modern day miracle". It is- a miracle of modern marketing! Icon has enlisted the help of churches, pastors, religious youth org's, individual faithful etc.. to help market this film. In an interview on National Public radio a spokesman for Icon praised the controversy the film has generated saying "you can't buy publicity like that" and went on to say Icon planned to market tee-shirst, soundtracks etc..Remember, Icon productions, as well intentioned as it's projects may be is primarily a for-profit company.
Icon has said on numerous occasions that the film presents the Passion narrative as told in the Gospels. This may be true, but they fail to mention something Mel Gibson has alluded to in the past. The film is also based on "The Dolorous Passion of our Lord", a book purported to contain revelations to Sr. Anne Catherine Emmerich. While these revelations may be approved by the Catholic Church(I don't know)I'm sure the CHurch doesn't consider them to have the same weight as the Gospel. I've noticed that when Icon started marketing the film to evangelical Christians, they stopped mentioning this aspect of the film.
These two points are little quirks of mine: I resent a film company calling itself "Icon" I feel the word icon gets misused enough as it is, I resent a film company using a section of an icon of the Theotokes as their logo. Coming from a generation that routinely gave up TV, movies, and other entertainments for Lent, I question the wisdom of opening on Ash Wednsday. I hope no one will skip services that evening to go see the film.
One last rant: Mel Gibson is not techanically a Roman Catholic-he belongs to a schismatic group that rejects VII and the current Pope.
Witness his company's willingness to sue the Council of Bishops and imply the vatican is lying about the Pope's reaction to the film. Doesn't sound very Christian, does it?
Do I plan to see the film? Yes, I probably will. But make no mistake, folks, this is just a film, not an eighth sacrament.

The USCCB apologized to Mel Gibson because they attained an copy of the movie script through illegal means, a means worthy of being sued, especially when they voiced concerns over an outdated script! The group who studied the script is quite dubious.

Joe

Here is a list of Byzcath.org threads on the topic of the "Passion" movie:


Gibson's 'Passion' makes Newsweek cover February 08, 200402-08-2004 9. Town Hall
https://www.byzcath.org/bboard/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=8;t=001147#000000

Cleveland Diocese WARNING: "The Passion" February 07, 200402-07-2004 9. Town Hall
https://www.byzcath.org/bboard/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=8;t=001145#000000

The Passion and interfaith peace February 07, 200402-07-2004 9. Town Hall
https://www.byzcath.org/bboard/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=8;t=001144#000000

A Tempered View of Mel's "Passion" February 06, 200402-06-2004 9. Town Hall
https://www.byzcath.org/bboard/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=8;t=001138#000000

'Passion' film to be released on 2,000 screens January 15, 200401-15-2004 9. Town Hall
https://www.byzcath.org/bboard/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=8;t=001076#000000

Advance tickets for 'The Passion' available now December 17, 200312-17-2003 9. Town Hall
https://www.byzcath.org/cgibin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=8;t=001013

'It Is as It Was': Mel Gibson's "The Passion" gets a thumbs-up from the pope December 17, 200312-17-2003 9. Town Hall
https://www.byzcath.org/cgibin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=8;t=001012

An Art Historian's View of "The Passion" December 12, 200312-12-2003 9. Town Hall
https://www.byzcath.org/cgibin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=8;t=001006

VATICAN CITY, DEC. 8, 2003 "Passion": On Review at the Vatican December 10, 200312-10-2003 9. Town Hall
https://www.byzcath.org/cgibin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=8;t=001000

Evangelical Review of the "Passion of Christ" December 03, 200312-03-2003 9. Town Hall
https://www.byzcath.org/cgibin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=8;t=000984

Met. Stefan Soroka comments on "Passion" film November 25, 200311-25-2003 9. Town Hall
https://www.byzcath.org/cgibin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=8;t=000962

Up Date on Passion from EWTN November 21, 200311-21-2003 9. Town Hall
https://www.byzcath.org/cgibin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=8;t=000952

Actor charts course that led him to portray Jesus in 'Passion' movie November 13, 200311-13-2003 9. Town Hall
https://www.byzcath.org/cgibin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=8;t=000935

Interview with the Jewish 'Passion' actress who plays the Virgin Mary November 09, 200311-09-2003 1. Church News
https://www.byzcath.org/cgibin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=001308

The first review of Mel Gibson's 'The Passion' November 08, 200311-08-2003 1. Church News
https://www.byzcath.org/bboard/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=001306#000000

And Some People Are Angry About The Passion ! November 03, 200311-03-2003 9. Town Hall
https://www.byzcath.org/cgibin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=8;t=000915

Why "The Passion" is considered offensive September 04, 200309-04-2003 1. Church News
https://www.byzcath.org/bboard/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=001224#000000

"The Passion" - WE NEED YOUR HELP! August 25, 200308-25-2003 9. Town Hall
https://www.byzcath.org/bboard/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=8;t=000800#000000

ADL finds fault with Mel Gibson's "The Passion" film August 12, 200308-12-2003 1. Church News
https://www.byzcath.org/cgibin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=001187

Controversy over Mel's "Passion" August 12, 200308-12-2003 9. Town Hall
https://www.byzcath.org/bboard/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=8;t=000777#000000

Discussion RE: the Passion on the O'Reilly Factor Tonite August 11, 200308-11-2003 9. Town Hall
https://www.byzcath.org/cgibin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=8;t=000776

Passion Movie - Support Site July 31, 200307-31-2003 9. Town Hall
https://www.byzcath.org/cgibin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=8;t=000762

Rush Limbaugh on the Passion July 28, 200307-28-2003 9. Town Hall
https://www.byzcath.org/cgibin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=8;t=000755

Fox to distribute The Passion July 27, 200307-27-2003 9. Town Hall
https://www.byzcath.org/cgibin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=8;t=000751

The Passion! July 13, 200307-13-2003 1. Church News
https://www.byzcath.org/cgibin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=001145

The Passion July 01, 200307-01-2003 9. Town Hall
https://www.byzcath.org/bboard/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=8;t=000719#000000

Pictures from Mel Gibson Movie-The Passion March 18, 200303-18-2003 9. Town Hall
https://www.byzcath.org/bboard/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=8;t=000559#000000

The making of Mel Gibson's movie about Christ's Passion February 01, 200302-01-2003 9. Town Hall
https://www.byzcath.org/bboard/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=8;t=000471#000000

- - -

And here is their website:
http://www.passion-movie.com/

Joe, I don't have time right now to dig up the articles written by reputible people who were invited by Icon to review the script. After the review, Icon began some legal maneuvering to suppress discussion, which was not flattering. A result of the maneuvering was a cagey response from the USCCB - an expression of regret that the interaction had deteriorated.

In any case, there is plenty of documentation avaliable on the web that presents a case totally incompatible with what you have posted. You presumably might be be interested in digging a little deeper to be sure that what you are posting is not a falsehood.

PS Just time to google this up:
http://www.moviecitynews.com/notepad/2003/030722b_tue.html

Eugene Fisher, associate director of the Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), reportedly contacted Icon and offered to assemble scholars to study the script and give Gibson suggestions on avoiding any anti-Semitism.

The early script draft the scholars reviewed became a center of controversy after Icon claimed it had been obtained illegally.

In their 18-page report, the scholars addressed a script that "shocked us," said one of the scholars, Paula Fredricksen of Boston University, in a New Republic article titled "Mad Mel: The Gospel According to Gibson." The report was forwarded to Icon with a cover letter written on USCCB letterhead, Fredricksen noted.

In the meantime, Gibson�s lawyers threatened a lawsuit against ADL and the USCCB if these groups did not return the scripts in their possession. The bishops� conference responded by returning the scripts and issuing an apology. "Neither the Bishops� Committee for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs nor any other committee of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops established this group or authorized, reviewed or approved the report written by its members," the apology said.

ADL also returned their scripts but did not offer an apology.

* * * * * * *

The whole article can be read here:

http://www.osvpublishing.com/periodicals/show-article.asp?pid=834

On the USCCB notice that they did not sponsor such a group:

"Neither the Bishops' Committee for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, nor any other committee of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, established this group, or authorized, reviewed or approved the report written by its members."

http://www.usccb.org/comm/archives/2003/03-119.htm

Paula Fredricksen?

Can you find the full text of the "apology".

No apology there; what exaclt did they apologize for?

What happened to your ad hominem comment?

I took it our after you edited the relevant comment from your post.