The Passion of the Christ - 2

Last Wednesday The Passion of the Christ was released to the general public. KRS very intelligently did this after holding a special preview for which priests and male religious were invited. Some asked what happened to the female religious!

Such a preview is not a common occurrence. The risk was well taken and most comments by priests published in the local media were positive. At the time of writing, we do not have any statistics for Malta but all statistics released in the United States show that this will be a very popular film.

A Christian Outlook on February 29 brought to readers' attention the extensive comments made by the Film and Broadcasting Office of the US bishops. Today we bring more comments about this film.

Greek Orthodox Archbishop Christodoulos of Athens has voiced reservations about Mel Gibson's film. He contrasted the harsh realism of the film with restrained approach to Christ's Passion that is shown in the Gospels.

Archbishop Christodoulos observed: "The goal of the Gospels is not to provoke the faithful, or to excite their imagination and feelings." He suggested that Christians should not need the graphic detail of the film to inspire their faith, since "we live the Passion in the piety of our Divine Worship".

On the other hand, Fr Luca Pellegrini, editor of the authoritative Rivista del Cinematografo, said that the "extremely harsh and realistic" portrayal of Christ's suffering may be a healthy antidote to a Christian faith that often is "saccharine".

Fr Pellegrini said The Passion forces Christians to remember "the scandal of the cross, that wood dripping with blood". He said that the violence of the film forces Christians to look at "our relationship with a God who was beaten, insulted, flagellated, tortured, derided and crucified."

Several Catholic bishops in the United States commented on the film. "Given the violence and brutality that reportedly pervades the film, I probably will not see it," Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk of Cincinnati said.

Archbishop Pilarczyk said: "No matter what the filmmaker intended, the film is not a full and faithful presentation of the four Gospel narratives of the Passion of Our Lord."

"I pray that the film, The Passion, will inspire all who see it to imitate Jesus' sacrificial love and be resolved to promote reconciliation among all ethnic and religious groups," Archbishop Sean P. O'Malley of Boston said.

Archbishop John F. Donoghue of Atlanta was enthusiastic in his praise after seeing a rough cut. "I am completely convinced that Gibson's motive in making this film was entirely religious, and that it manifests what I consider to be his sincere faith and devotion.

"I believe that all people should see this film," he said. "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."

Bishop John J. Nevins of Venice, Florida, said that he hopes that the message of Christ's passion and death will remind us that God loves all of us totally, completely and unconditionally as we are made in his image and likeness."

Bishop Robert J. Baker of Charleston, South Carolina, invited Catholics to ask themselves: "Does the movie help me personally understand better what Jesus did to save me and the human race?" Bishop David A. Zubik of Green Bay, Wisconsin, described the film as "a profoundly moving religious experience".

He added: "The film is clearly a 'must see.' ...Any person of faith who came to see the movie would leave with their faith deepened and any person who claimed that they did not have faith and viewed the movie would leave with faith sparked within them."

Cardinal Francis E. George of Chicago said that just as Jesus' passion "moves us to humility and contrition", seeing The Passion of the Christ "can and should do the same for those who see it this Lent".

Fr Robert Barron, a professor of systematic theology at Mundelein seminary and the University of St Mary of the Lake, Mundelein, Illinois, said the film's "robustly orthodox Christology prevents the film from devolving simply into an orgy of violence done to an innocent man and allows it to speak the mystery of redemption." He added: "I would strongly urge people to see this intense and moving film."

Sr Rose Pacatte, a Daughter of St Paul and co-author of the Lights, Camera, Faith: A Movie Lover's Guide to Scripture book series, had problems with the "personification of evil in the form of a woman. I would have wished this film could have moved away from this overused stereotype of evil," Sr Pacatte said, adding that judging from some of the opening scenes she felt "this film actually belongs to the horror genre".

Fr Roger Karban, a Scripture scholar in the Diocese of Belleville, Illinois, said that "if Gibson's goal was to lead his viewers to a deeper understanding of the physical suffering Jesus endured for our salvation, the Gospels provided him almost no material.

"(In) line after line, passage after passage, the Gospel authors consistently chronicle not the physical but the psychological torment Jesus endures for the sake of his followers; almost always a torment instigated by those followers.

"His actual crucifixion and the pain accompanying it are incidental to the essential hurt which accompanies Jesus giving of himself to others."

In the same way that people do not agree on the assessment of the film, there is also disagreement about whether or not adolescents should be allowed to see it.

In the US the film was classified A-III - adults - by the US Bishops' Office for Film and Broadcasting for "gory scenes of scourging, torture and crucifixion, a suicide and some frightening images".

It carried an MPAA rating of R - restricted. Seeing an R-rated film in a theatre requires that children under 17 be accompanied by their parent or guardian. Cinemas are making wide exceptions with The Passion and allowing youth ministers and teachers to bring youths with permission from parents.

According to reports several youth ministers in the US are taking their students to see the film after preparing them beforehand and discussing it afterwards. Others have decided not to recommend the film.

The same kind of discussions about the film and about whether or not students should go and see it is also happening in Malta, which is one of the very first countries to show the film. No doubt the discussion will continue...