Posted on 02/28/2004 6:34:54 PM PST by ultima ratio
Of necessity I will continue to oppose your ideas when you must argue against the Holy Father John Paul II, but never again will I ever doubt that you are a Christian soul of good intention. It is a great grief to me that I have impugned and maligned you before, and I do beg your forgvieness.
Archbishop Urges Catholics to See The Passion
I believe that all people should see this film. And as your bishop, I would urge all Catholics of the Archdiocese of Atlanta to see this film. But do not expect to view it objectively or without being changed. It will not leave you the same person you were before - you will never again not be able to picture the scope of our Lord's suffering, and the terrible price He paid in order to save us. And consequently, you will never again be able to think of yourself as being innocent, or only relatively involved in the events of His Passion. That is a result of the true artistry that Mel Gibson has brought to the production, along with the work of an amazing cast, and cinematography that elevates this film to a place among the greatest ever made. But most importantly, it is a result of Mel Gibson's faithful adherence to the words and the spirit of the Gospel.
This writer makes such a number of good points and has such a way with words, but here are a few highlights:
Rabbi Lapins moral integrity and plain speaking have done more for Christian-Jewish relations than a thousand futile ecumenical symposia and weasel-worded scriptural trade-offs brokered by pressure groups and Vatican appeaseniks.Yes! one Rabbi Lapin makes up for a number of Eisners and Katzenbergs and Harvey Weinsteins, and for a number of Cardinal Kaspers and Keelers as well.
For, make no mistake, this is an intensely Catholic film. Mel Gibson is a traditional Catholic who rejects the humbug and chaos of the Second Vatican Catastrophe - as do an increasing number of the disillusioned survivors stumbling around in the ruins of the once-mighty Roman Catholic Church.What a great phrase, one that will have to enter my lexicon -- Second Vatican Catastrophe. Let's not pussyfoot around with obfuscation about the "spirit" of the "implementation." Vatican II was a catastrophe starting with the opening speech of Pope John XXIII which won him Time magazine Man of the Year.
"the Easter People, the dancers in sanctuaries, those who claim They Are Church and all the assorted Lollards and Fifth Monarchy Men who have converted Catholicism into a crankfest" and "Of course, we need some ritual and collective spirituality: so, lets go and hang some cuddly toys on the railings of Kensington Palace."Anyone still participating in the "one-size-fits-all, syncretic religion," take a look in the mirror.
I also keep you and your family's entrance into the Catholic Church in my prayers.
But things are going along swimmingly. We've been attending the same parish for about a month now. I'm singing in the choir - much to my amazement (1) same hymns I sang in my old church - only one "wings of eagles" type hymn snuck in and I can live with that now and then (2) TWO anthems I have sung before just in one month (both English) and more to come. We meet with Monsignor next week for a more formal introduction and to go over what he requires for fledglings . . . :-D
Am glad you like our Archbishop. He seems like a good, faithful, no-nonsense cleric to me.
Actually, you don't even have to suspend judgment on these matters. This is probably the greatest piece of religious art produced in the last couple of hundred years.
The thing that truly amazed me when I saw the movie last night was not only the impact of the religious message, but the fact that I was actually seeing genuine art. It's like seeing Velazquez, El Greco, Murillo, etc. all rolled up into one, with touches of Breughel and Goya in the crowd scenes, and all of it brought to life.
The music was also stunning, and, in fact, I have already bought the CD (although I'm not exactly sure what would make a suitable situation for listening to it).
Your heartfelt comments to ultima were very touching and demonstrate great courage and humility that the rest of us could imitate. At the same time, I think all of us need to wake up and see that someone has been running the Church for the past 25 years. None of this happened in a vacuum.
If you say that it wasn't JPII, that he was just an innocent dupe of evil Vatican apparatchiks, then I ask you, "Who is the only person in the entire world who is closely associated with the new doctrine of personalism which has entirely replaced traditional Catholic teaching on marriage and family with a new and impenetrable philosophy of interpersonal relationships that has destroyed the Thomistic foundations of Catholic philosophy?"
There has been one person who best fits that description and it is not Cardinal Kasper or Cassaroli or Jean Jadot or Suenens or Bea or Karl Rahner or even Cardinal Ratzinger. It is Karol Wojtyla himself.
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