Posted on 02/28/2005 1:28:36 PM PST by nickcarraway
Hollywood A-lister buys the rights to the book ‘Stealing from Angels'
Fittingly, just ten days after the death of Sr Lucia dos Santos, the last survivor to witness the appearances of the Virgin Mary at the Portuguese town of Fatima in 1917, Mel Gibson has bought the rights to the book ‘Stealing from Angels’.
Brian Dullaghan’s novel tells the story of a young Irish man who escapes a dreary life in his hometown only to slip into a life of major crime in New York. Everything changes when he meets Maria and he jumps ship again, this time to Maria’s hometown in Italy. However, blissful happiness does not follow and when the couple are connected to the murder of Pope John Paul and the third secret of Fatima, things really implode.
‘Stealing from Angels’ is a work of fiction that tells the tale of a man who shoulders a huge secret and trusts no one.
The third prophecy
Those familiar with the three prophesies revealed by the Virgin Mary at Fatima will be aware that the first two referred to the two World Wars and the third to the long kept secret that Sr Lucia ultimately revealed that foretold the 1981 attempt on Pope John Paul II’s life.
In 2000, when the Pope visited the shrine at Fatima, Cardinal Soldano, authorised to read a statement on behalf of the pontiff, described the prophecy: "the 'bishop clothed in white' makes his way with great effort toward the cross amid the corpses of those who were martyred. He too falls to the ground, apparently dead, under a burst of gunfire." Pope John Paul II credits the Madonna of Fatima with his survival following the assassination attempt by Turkish right-winger Mehmet Ali Agca in St Peter's Square.
‘Stealing from Angels’ has received rave reviews and is very popular in America, not least, in the same vein as The Da Vinci Code, because people can indulge their desire for church conspiracy theories – especially relating to the Catholic Church.
Mel Gibson’s interest will again stir up the controversy. Gibson is known to practice pre-Vatican II ‘traditional’ Catholicism and much was made amid ‘The Passion’ furore of his father’s Vatican conspiracy theories.
But let’s put this to one side. The film will not hit screens until 2006 and Gibson has proved himself an exceptional actor and director. He has also treated key figures in the Catholic hierarchy with respect and even sought their opinions ahead of the worldwide release of ‘The Passion of The Christ’.
Mel Gibson travelled to Fatima in September of 2003 to show the film to religious institutions. He visited Sr Lucia’s convent in Coimbra and managed to secure an agreement to show ‘The Passion’ to the sisters. Later, Gibson returned to Portugal and made another secret visit to the convent to meet with Sr Lucia.
One thing’s for sure; this film is destined to be a controversial box office blockbuster. But before the conspiracy theories get out of hand, not to mention individual reader interpretations, the author himself has the final say in an interview with The Tribune: “It’s a great story and that is that,” said Dullaghan.
Hollywood holds its breath…
We respect Mary, mother of Jesus. We worship Christ.
Believe or not....THOUSANDS of people witnessed it...even MEDIA were there and wrote about it.
Oh good. Cant' wait for that.
That would be a meeting he would never forget.
Sorry, it sounded like you knew nothing bt what someone had told you. Do you doubt the eyewitnesses?
Tridentine Masses are certainly legitimate and a lot higher in terms of cultural form than Novus Ordo. No Catholic disagrees with the validity of the Tridentine Mass or the Tridentine sacramental rites.
Is the Novus Ordo Mass a legitimate Mass? If your answer is no, stop the schismatic troublemaking and advertising and mind your own business.
The previous movie was a 1950s production called The Miracle of Fatima.
You said the same thing I did.....Revere IS respect....Adoration IS worship. Mary as the Mother of God (Jesus) deserves to be Revered/Respected above ALL other humans!
Wrong. Mary is prayed to in leiu of praying to Jesus. Jesus died to intercede for your sins, not Mary.
In the recent movie "Luther" this issue at the time was almost unknown to the masses. If anyone wants to see a good Christian history movie, rent this one.
I thought it presented both sides fairly evenly.
O yes Justification through faith, this is a bit of inspiration most people accept today, it really should be placed in the Holly books the Bible with other works of inspiration but it never will.
Actually, there is only one person to whom this can refer, if it is accurate, and that is the Pope.
When, where, how, etc...we don't know. Such is the nature of prophecy!
The Bible tells that Jesus not just "died" for our sins but "SUFFERED and died" for them. POTC smacks you right in the face with the "SUFFERED" part. It is the flip side of the back that without salvation all were headed to hell, and hell is a TRIFLE more than God telling the departed spirits "gosh darn your naughty hides."
back => fact
As I understand it, Mr. Gibson is producing the Boudica movie (through Icon Productions), but is not directing it.
As you say. There are numberless abuses within the Church, but to some extent that will always be true. In fact, in some periods things have been worse. For the believing Catholic, no amount of abuses can be a reason for leaving the true Church and going into schism.
In the early disputes between Erasmus and Martin Luther, Luther was often closer to the truth than Erasmus, who among other things lied to the Pope about his age in order to get himself dispensed from his monastic vows.
Nevertheless, Erasmus chose to stay within the Church while Luther chose to leave it. Luther's decision had serious consequences, down to the present day, whereas few people now care what Erasmus's theological opinions may have been. Heresy is bad but schism is worse, because heresy is more easily correctible.
I agree with you. Like much of Revelations, it can be many things to many people. Sr. Lucia never said it meant JP2 that I know of. I think he made that interpretation after his experience.
I do believe that Mary deserves both respect and honor. But in granting Mary deserved respect and honor doesn't mean placing her above all other human beings, or necessarily above all other believers. The honor Mary deserves comes from the fact that she was submissive to the will of God, and a vessel in God's hands to perform His purposes in her and through her. But every believer honors him- or herself in the same way: to submissively place one's faith in God, and be a willing vessel for God to perform His purposes in and through one. Granted, her role was unique. And if Scripture gives her that elevated honor above all other humans, I would accept it. But I don't see it. If anyone deserves honor and glory above every other human it would be the apostle Paul, who wrote the bulk of the New Testament epistles explaining what we have in Christ; who planted churches throughout the gentile world; who confronted the power of Rome and of the Jews with the claims of Christ; and who ultimately suffered and died a martyr's death for the gospel. But Paul refers to himself as "the least of the apostles," and finally as "the chief of sinners." Paul would never place himself above others, particularly as an object of reverence.
It is one thing to honor Mary for her faithful submission to the work of God. But the impression I get from reading the comments of Catholics is that devotion for Mary crosses over into reverent worship. She is the object of prayer, is she not? And yet scripture says that there is only one mediator between man and God the Father, "the man, Jesus Christ."
A former Catholic nun has written,
When Pope John Paul II was shot, while the ambulance was rushing him to the hospital, the Pope was not praying to God or calling on the name of Jesus. He kept saying, over and over: "Mary, my mother!" Polish pilgrims placed a picture of Our Lady of Czestochowa on the throne where the Pope normally sat. People gathered around the picture. Vatican loudspeakers broadcasted the prayers of the rosary. When the Pope recovered, he gave Mary all the glory for saving his life, and he made a pilgrimage to Fatima to publicly thank her. (James G. McCarthy, "The Gospel According to Rome: Comparing Catholic Tradition and the Word of God," pp. 181-184; 199-200.)
Again, reverence and respect are one thing; worship is quite another. Scripture tells me that by the blood of Christ, the way into the holy place (God's presence) is now open, and that in Christ we have direct access to the Father. Establishing Mary as a mediator between us and God is not in the Bible, and does her a dishonor by ascribing to her the worship that only Christ deserves.
But I think the basic divide between Catholics and Protestants isn't the issue of Mary, but is the same divide that has existed since Luther and the reformers. The biggest divide is over authority within the church. Rather than the pope being the head of the church, Jesus Christ is the head, and rather than the pope's pronouncements spoken ex cathedra, the Bible is the final word of God, and is "profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteous, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work." (II Tim. 3:16)
This issue of authority -- Christ as the head, and His word as God's authoritative and formal word to mankind -- isn't something that will be hashed out on the pages of FreeRepublic. I do respect the Catholic church for many things, but anything which diminished the role and place of Jesus Christ in the heart of the believer, anything which comes between the believer and Christ, anything which suggests that Christ's work on the cross was not a finished work, that He did not complete what He came to do, and that we somehow need to add to His work by adopting other mediators between He and us, isn't what I see in scripture.
I'm not interested in questioning someone else's faith or traditions. All I'm interested in is elevating Jesus Christ and declaring His complete sufficiency to supply what is insufficient in us. I believe that many of the teachings of the Catholic Church cloud and obscure the grace and glory of Christ in the hearts and minds of Catholics. And I just don't think this of Catholic teaching; I have issues with the conservative evangelical tradition I come out of -- I believe there are aspects of the contemporary evangelical churches which also obscure the grace and glory of Christ. So, while I wish to respect everyone's faith, I'll take issue with any teaching which diminishes the person and work of Jesus Christ among His people.
Mary is a GREAT intercessor....which I believe you and other non Catholics will never understand......that's OK, then.....we'll take her over St. Paul day. I think Jesus loved his mother a tad more than St. paul, so I think we are in good company.
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