Posted on 09/13/2002 5:08:13 AM PDT by kattracks
Actor Mel Gibson, a staunchly orthodox Roman Catholic who will play Christ in an upcoming movie, says the Vatican is a "wolf in sheep's clothing" and that he doesn't believe in the present-day Church as an institution.
Gibson, who calls himself an "old-fashioned Catholic" devoted to the Latin mass and pre-Vatican II Catholicism told the Italian newspaper Il Giornale that he believes in God and is happy that his only daughter has decided to become a nun.
In Rome to film "Passion," a new film about the final hours of Christ's life, Gibson, 46 recalled that he had a stern Catholic upbringing as a youngster in Australia, where he attended Catholic school.
"My love for religion was transmitted to me by my father," he told the newspaper. "But I do not believe in the Church as an institution." Gibson said he has a private chapel at his home in Malibu, Calif., at which mass is celebrated every Sunday in Latin.
The replacement of the Latin liturgy by vernacular languages has caused many Catholics such as Gibson to seek out parishes where the Latin mass is celebrated on Sundays. The Vatican allows Latin masses but requires permission to be granted by local bishops.
Vatican II rules permit local bishops to apply for so-called "indults" - exceptions that allow mass to be celebrated in Latin. In recent years there has been a growing movement to restore Latin as the language of the mass. Adherents point to the fact that the pope continues to say his private daily mass in Latin
Gibson's objections to the post-Vatican II Church echo those of the members of the Society of St. Pius X, which broke away from Rome partially because of the abandonment of the Latin or Tridentine liturgy. It has chapels scattered around the U.S., where the liturgy is the pre-Vatican II Tridentine mass celebrated in Latin.
In the U.S. the Society claims it has 43 priests, 60 seminarians, 15 priories, 98 chapels and 26 schools.
According to Britain's Times. Gibson and his wife, Robyn, have been married for more than 20 years. He is fiercely protective of his seven children (six sons and one daughter, who he says wants to be a nun, which he is very happy about). He says he was attracted to the story of Christ's last hours before the crucifixion because it is "the drama of a man torn between his divine spirit and his earthly weakness."
In the Garden of Gethsemane, on the road to Calvary and at Golgotha, Gibson said, Jesus is often described as being calmly resigned to his suffering and death despite St. Luke's account of Christ's agony in the Garden of Olives, where he underwent an attack of hematidrosa - where victims sweat blood as a result of profound emotion or great fear.
Gibson says, "my Jesus will be shaken by his human suffering. Real blood will flow from the wound in his side, and the screams of his crucifixion will be real as well."
Catholic sources told the Times that Gibson sought the advice of theologians and prelates in Rome for his film and that the actor has strong views on divorce, abortion and contraception.
Common mistake. That IS NOT what Dr. Luke says. Anyone care to expose the error, for the Big Money? (c8
Dan
Biblical Christianity web site
Gibson's objections to the post-Vatican II Church echo those of the members of the Society of St. Pius X, which broke away from Rome partially because of the abandonment of the Latin or Tridentine liturgy. It has chapels scattered around the U.S., where the liturgy is the pre-Vatican II Tridentine mass celebrated in Latin.I’m not sure he is SSPX, he may be more of a Sedevacantist. I think that is a rather confused issue.
As posted to Narses on the other thread:
In the recent movie "Signs", Gibson plays a married man with two children who had a crisis of faith six months prior which caused him to leave his ministry.Throughout the film, folks have a hard time remembering not to call him "Father", a drugstore clerk insists on "clearing her conscience" by detailing her sins to him and -- at the close of the film when his faith is restored, he again dons his Roman collar and returns the crucifix to his wall.
Particularly given the absolute dearth of adverts, I can only conclude that the focus of the film with regard to "Product Placement" was married priests.
I am extremely uneasy about anyone's looking to Mel Gibson for some witness to the faith. I say this as a longtime (since "Year of Living Dangerously") fan who has no reason to believe he's not a good man.
He may also be a faithful Catholic but this article -- coming on the heels of his big-screen pitch for married priests moreso than in advance of his playing Christ -- does not bode well. I suspect Hollywood (agit prop dogs of the White House) knows they have a goldmine as far as the Catholic Gibson is concerned.
Does not bode well.
Is this progress?
Stripping our Mass of the ancient, traditional langauge of worship was a conscious act of cultural genocide. It cut us off from the roots of our culture and burned our bridges to the pre-Catholic ancients; Something not even the darkest of the so-called Dark Ages could do entirely!!
The deformation of the AmChu in the wake of this linguistic Terror followed like the night follows the day. We were always more vulnerable because of certain aspects of American culture. The homosexuality of the clergy is not the worst problem in the AmChu; the rampant mediocrity, anti-intellectualism, sappy feminization and inabilty to appreciate beauty--all of this flows directly from the guillotining of the Latin Mass.
Hmmmm. You are probably correct. But it's hard, sometimes, not to react when one is a reactionary...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.