www.byzcath.org Forums News & Events Church News Why "The Passion" is considered offensive

Persecution? Who said persecution?

What did the ADL say about Maia Morgenstern, a popular Jewish actress, who plays the part of Mary, the mother of Jesus?

Fr. William J. Fulco S.J., a National Endowment for the Humanities professor of ancient Mediterranean studies at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, translated Gibson's script into Aramaic and stated that there was nothing anti-Semitic in it.

The US Catholic Conference of Bishops also apologized to Mel and will also return their contraband (read: stolen, illegally attained) copy of the script back to Mel et al. Oops! I guess they didn't know that it was stolen.

Paula Fredricksen, a scripture scholar who believes that the Gospels were as historical as John Spong would have imagined them to be, also criticized the movie.

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From one news source:

Here�s the unprecedented way that �The Passion� is being assaulted. The press is quoting scholars who have written a supposedly confidential report. But the report has somehow landed in the hands of the news media. And some of the report�s authors appear to be more than willing to let their criticisms be aired in public; this despite the fact that the report is based on incomplete, dated, confidential and pirated material. Kind of makes you wonder just how elastic the definition of �scholar� has become.

...

Because some of the stories that appeared in the press indicated that the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) was associated with the report, the bishops apparently felt they had the need to apologize as well as distance themselves.

�We regret that this situation has occurred, and offer our apologies,� stated Mark E. Chopko, general counsel for the USCCB. �I have further advised the scholars group that this draft screenplay is not considered to be representative of the film and should not be the subject of further public comment. When the film is released, the USCCB will review it at that time.�

What a novel idea � actually waiting until a film is done before reviewing it.

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And that is the point. All this criticism before actually seeing it. I agree wholeheartedly that we should see the movie first before passing judgment. Yet, the Christ-bashers are out there ready to pounce.

A real stumbling-block, eh?

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Another article:

... a panel of three Jewish and six Catholic scholars, who have studied a draft script, say the film is anti-semitic and theologically inaccurate, portraying Jews as bloodthirsty and vengeful and reviving the worst traditions of the passion plays which contributed to deadly attacks against Jews over the centuries.

"When we read the screenplay our sense was this wasn't really something you could fix. All the way through, the Jews are portrayed as bloodthirsty," said Sister Mary C Boys, a professor at New York's Union Theological Seminary. "We're really concerned that this could be one of the great crises in Christian-Jewish relations."

The panel was convened by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops with the help of the Jewish advocacy group, the Anti-Defamation League. Gibson responded by accusing the scholars of illegally obtaining stolen property - the draft script - and extortion while threatening court orders and lawsuits.

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Can you imagine the 'traditionalist' Catholic Mel Gibson being accused of anti-Semitism by a conference of Catholic bishops who based their own charges on stolen property? With all those pedophile lawsuits to pay and then this ...

Well you may or may not be a Rush Limbaugh fan but there are few times this man is speechless and seeing the Passion seems to have left him that way.

http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/we...s__the_passion__for_el_rushbo.guest.html

Rose

No, none of us have seen the movie yet...but this isn't just about the movie itself. There are other issues at play here that have some of us concerned.

First, the ADL...I have already posted my feelings about this organization, feelings based on real life dealings with members of the group that I and my family have experienced. Feelings based on incidents that happened to the Hasidic and Orthodox Jews in the neighborhood I grew up in. I have been speaking to many Jews I know about this whole thing...most expressed concern that it is the ADL themselves and the publicity they are garnering in their attempt to halt this movie, that are fueling the anti-semitic incidents that are taking place and will probably increase once the movie is shown. I have yet to see documentation, but I was told that there are many Rabbis and other Jewish organizations that are cautioning people to wait and see, much like some of you here have cautioned. The problem is that they are not getting the media attention that the ADL is getting.

Second...Our Beloved Bishops...more than the ADL they are bothering me in this. When the movie Dogma was being released the Bishops didn't speak up, even though the movie not only attacked the Gospels, but attacked Catholic and Orthodox teachings. And just Sinead O'Connor as God should have been enough to get their blood up . Last Temptation of Christ, they didn't get riled up, Stigmata was met with silence...after these movies were released, the Bishops panned them not only as against Orthodox and Catholic teaching, but as lousy movies as well. But they didn't try in any way to stop the movies from being released. Why is this movie being treated differently?

We may all find that the Passion is a lousy movie. We may go see it and threaten to burn down the theatre if we don't get our money back. But if it's not released, we will never get the chance to make our own judgement about it's merit. This isn't about the movie itself for me, and I think many here agree. The real issue is that this is a movie about the Gospel and 'someone' or 'something' doesn't want it shown. Yes, I am cynical when it comes to the Bishops of this country...I stopped following them blindly when I was thirteen years old. But be that as it may, I want to see this movie for myself and make my own judgement. I don't want them to tell me what I can see or can't see, especially since it didn't seem to bother them if I went to see any of the other movies I listed above.

This movie has caused some confusing and troubling feelings for me. As one who is Catholic of Jewish heritage, I have always been sensitive to the nuances of anti-semitism, I have always been deeply cognizant and proud of my heritage. But one thing I have never felt is split down the middle. Until now. And so for the first time in my life as a 'half-breed', I have to make a choice and I finally, after weeks of thinking about it, have made that choice. Even if it offended my own flesh and blood, I would fight to have this movie released to the public, so that people could form their own opinion and the message of the Gospel could get out.
Vie

Vie,

You go girl!

Rose

Mel Gibson is a traditionalist Latin Catholic. He belongs to a splinter group akin to the SSPX and plans to build his own church in Malibu.

Supposedly, according to a Vatican spokesman, he has refused at least six invitations to see Pope John Paul II. Mel rejects Vatican II and its New Mass. Obviously, he's not the kind of "Catholic" the bishops would like to have being a spokesman for the Gospels.

Pinning him down as an anti-Semite would have made them look good. Mel has also linked the liberalism from Vatican II with the current pedophile scandal.

What is Mel's comment on the pedophile scandal? He stated that, "Quite frankly, I think that those guys who have misused their authority should be punished hard."

If Mel portrays the Gospel accounts of the Passion accurately, it will make the bishops look bad with all their "Catholic" colleges where religious studies professors teach the Bible who don't necessarily believe in the historicity of Jesus.

Slava Isusu Christu!

Not to split hairs, but it was actually Alanis Morisette who played God, not Sinead. I don't even think Kevin Smith would have gone THAT far

In Christ,
mikey.

Whoops, my bad...how could I have made that mistake..one has hair, the other doesn't...

And of course, the last thing the liberal bishops want is for someone who might be identified as a Catholic, to portray the Gospels accurately...such a thing might actually move some people to a renewal of their faith in the real Christ and not the one the liberal theologians have been trying to push on us.

Slava Isusu Christi

I remember when the Last Temptation of Christ came out. The evangelicals and fundamentalists all threw a fit about it. I didn't see it, but I heard that it was such a bad movie it would have flopped if they hadn't made such a big deal out of it and stirred up interest in it!

I saw clips of The Passion last night on Entertainment Tonight or some other such show. I think such a graphic portrayal of the Passion of Christ is needed in our country today, regardless of what sect Mel Gibson belongs to. We Americans have replaced the Corpus on our crucifixes with the Risen Christ. Our sensibilities are offended when we are confronted with our Suffering Savior. We are afraid of offending the Protestants with Him. It's about time we faced the truth of what our sins did to Him! It's about time we worried about offending God instead of ourselves!

Pat Robertson, a most respected (although reviled by some of the morally liberal) Evangelical pastor, is very much in FAVOR of 'The Passion'. On his Christian Broadcasting Network, he has never once uttered a word against it, and, on the contrary, is enthusiastic about it. I don't see how any TRUE Christian hearted person of any denomination cannot be enthusiastic about the message of Christ and what He endured for our salvation. Not to mention the revival of Christianity this will hopefully bring about to a whole generation that hasn't grown up with Jesus Christ being popular, and others of other generations who have forgotten about Him when our culture forgot about him.

Vie: You are QUITE right about those horrible violent movies that attract youth, and how THEY are never condemned for their grotesque violence.

In Christ,
Alice

Interesting article about Mel Gibson and The Passion

full article
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=34497

WND A passionate Mel Gibson strikes back against critics
'I want to kill him, I want his intestines on a stick, I want to kill his dog,' he says of Times columnist
Posted: September 9, 2003
1:00 a.m. Eastern


� 2003 WorldNetDaily.com

Mel Gibson is passionately angry at critics of his upcoming film about the death of Jesus Christ.

In remarks quoted in the New Yorker magazine, he denied "The Passion" is anti-Semitic and accused some of those leading the chorus against the film of being "anti-Christian." Gibson said he personally has been the target of "vehement anti-Christian sentiment."

In one statement bound to add fuel to the fire of anti-Semitism charges, Gibson accused "modern secular Judaism" of trying "to blame the Holocaust on the Roman Catholic Church."

"It's a lie. And it's revisionism," said Gibson, a follower of Traditionalist Catholicism that still performs the Latin Tridentine mass. "And they've been working on that one for a while." .....

Did Mel Gibson really say that ??? Sounds like he's been hangin out with Mike Tyson.