Posted on 08/03/2003 9:36:10 AM PDT by DPB101
The American family is at the center of a great struggle between good and evil, Wichita Bishop Thomas Olmsted said Saturday at a conference of Catholic families that drew 3,500 people to Century II.
That struggle will soon include a national debate on marriage, said U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., who along with his wife, Karen, addressed the Midwest Catholic Family Conference. The conference continues today.
Cheers greeted Rick Santorum, who pointed to abortion as one of the main causes of the breakdown of the family.
Santorum said abortion attacks the family because it causes parents to see children as a hassle, as something they can either accept or not, causing parents to put their interest above the children's.
Abortion slowly erodes the preamble to the Constitution, he said: To promote the common good.
"We've got it backward in America. The freedom is not for you, it's for something more important than you. It's for us. The basic 'us' is the American family.
"It's not against anybody. It's for a good."
The same right to privacy that was invoked in the passage of Roe v. Wade has been extended in the Supreme Court's recent ruling on consensual sexual activity, Santorum said. A national debate on marriage will follow, he said.
"One of the things we don't take stock of in America," he said, is that every civilization in history has recognized the importance of marriage.
"Why is marriage so important?... It's about children and openness to children."
Santorum urged the audience to be faithful, to stand up for what is right and to pray.
"For the family, your charge is to walk the walk, not talk the talk." Santorum said for him that means that no matter how busy he is, he makes sure he has scheduled family time every day. He flew into Wichita on Saturday morning and was flying back home Saturday evening because "I don't spend nights away from my kids."
Luanna Pinkston of Clearwater said the annual conference "gives you a boost. It refreshes you."
An area of Convention Hall was reserved for "stroller parking," and a choir of baby voices could be heard during a Mass celebrated by Olmsted and about 20 priests.
During his homily, Olmsted said that divorce tripled the likelihood that a person would commit suicide, and increased the chance of mental illness by 37 percent in children affected by divorce.
"A family is a great blessing for the world. God continues to renew the face of the Earth through the family."
A four-minute trailer of Mel Gibson's movie "The Passion" was shown between talks, and Santorum said he had seen a rough cut of the movie recently.
"I only have two words: See it. It will absolutely change your life. I can't speak in higher terms of any art I've seen." It is scheduled to be released on Ash Wednesday next year.
Penny Harrison of Kansas City, Mo., said she hoped for her family that the conference "would refocus us on the importance of sanctity and family life and give us hope, because it's so easy to get bogged down and disillusioned with the news and tragedies in married life and family life."
Said her daughter, Emily, 18: "It's good to see very large numbers of people who share your same world view. Families of seven and eight children. It's good to see people living those everyday things so you don't think you're the only one."
I can't think of a good thing they said about Mel's movie.
I'd heard that Mel's movie really closely follows the Biblical account of Christ's passion, so I had to laugh at the silliness of a lot of the negative things that the hosts were saying.
We haven't seen the movie... but...If Gibson has nothing to hide, why won't he allow a prescreening by a diverse group of religious leaders?
Why is this movie coming out now?
The movie is insensitive
If Christianity is a religion of love, how can a movie like this be Christian?
Gibson comes from a background with a father who is a religious extremist
etc.
I think they squeezed all those objections (and many more) into about 5 minutes.
Next they'll be telling us it's bad to read the Bible.
The frenzy of Foxman and Hier to allow them to have imput into the film has little to do with what they think Mel is producing.
It is all about precedent. They want to be able to put their code of approval on everything a Christian writes or produces. Foxman boasts all the time about how the producers of Passion Plays have "worked with him" on their scripts.
Mel's becoming one of my heroes.
I was listening to "Religion on the Line" today. It is a call-in radio show with a priest and a rabbi (today, anyway). I can't think of a good thing they said about Mel's movie.
I ask you once again - why is it you focus only on Jews who have questioned this film??
Mel Gibson is not trying to provoke a crisis in Jewish-Christian relations in America----Abe Foxman and his supporters are. The reason is very simple and was alluded to in Klinghoffer's article yesterday: money. By scaring ADL contributors with smears about possible pogroms from the movie's release, Foxman "shakes them down" for funds.
Veronica, Why must we explain the obvious? Why the incitement and baiting? Anyone should be allowed to express their faith in whatever manner they wish without answering questions of when they stopped beating their wife and how do we know they aren't advocating others beat their wives?
And I am aware that many, including David Horowitz, an acquaintance of mine actually, has defended Mel Gibson's right to make a movie of his vision of Jesus's last hours. Just as Martin Scorcese had a right to his vision of Jesus's life.
FYI - many in the Church have questioned this film as well, in fact I have read that it was some folks in the Church who leaked the early script in the first place.
Now as I have posted before, Mel Gibson's film, his vision, will be open to criticism and/or praise, just like any other film and to do so, is not to deny him "the right to practice his religion." It's a movie after all. Nothing put in the marketplace for public consumption is sacrosanct.
I was pinged to this thread, which is just one of many you have posted on this subject, for what purpose, I believe is quite obvious, considering your track record here.
There's a simple explanation. If you look inside Larry's skull, you'll find this engraved all over the inner surface:
JOOOS - ABE FOXMAN - JOOOS - "WEISENTHAL" - JOOOS - KOSHERTAX - JOOOS - ABE FOXMAN - JOOOS - ZOG --....
You get the idea. It's a pathology.
Hmmm... Pot, kettle, black. You do a fair amount of inciting and baiting yourself.
Well, I think we agree on the most important point. The movie should not be denied distribution. If it's wrong doctrinally...if it's bad artistically....even if it has elements deemed "anti-Semitic" by some critics...let it be subject to civil, constructive, democratic debate after the film's release.
No, he is forbidden to rock. He might gospel, a little. ;)
No one but Foxman and his supporters to my knowledge has raised concerns about "anti-Semitism" in the film. No one but Foxman & Co. to my knowledge has insisted that the film's script be reviewed and vetted before production and release. No one but Foxman & Co. to my knowledge has tried to insinuate that anyone speaking up for the film's release and against such strong-arm, censorship tactics are motivated by anti-Semitism.
There's a simple solution to this: Let the film be released. Go see it, or don't go see it, as you choose. If the former, offer your criticism, if any. If the latter, live and be well. Hakuna matata, dude.
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