Today must be anti-Catholic film day today on the Curt Jester. This is from the Catholic League.
On December 7, Gener8Xion Entertainment, a prominent Protestant film company, will release Nolle. Catholic League president Bill Donohue disputes the claim that the movie is merely a parable of forgiveness and grace:
Weve seen the movie and its a gem. In the synopsis provided by Gener8Xion, it accurately describes Jonathan Keene as a young Catholic priest seemingly devoid of genuine human emotion; his job is to do what he does best: shut down a failing parish. Then there is the child-like Fr. Simeon Joyce, a faithful but disillusioned priest who blatantly disregards church regulations, uses church monies to pay an old fishermans medical bills and spends most of his time drinking at the local pub. Both priests are portrayed as losers.
Viewers learn that the only reason Fr. Keene became a priest is because he felt guilty about getting a girl pregnant when he was in college; to top things off, he pressured her to have an abortion. Fr. Joyce, the alcoholic, has serious reservations about celibacy and his idea of heaven is a jolly good Christmas party. Fr. Joyce tells Fr. Keene he wants to marry a woman named Marjorie so he can help raise her illegitimate kid, saying he made a vow to God not to the Church. But Fr. Keene, a first-class klutz, is also in love with the same woman: he is shown bolting in the middle of Midnight Mass to be with her, knocking over a filled chalice and ripping off his vestments.
Throughout the film, confession is trivialized, celibacy is ridiculed, the Virgin Mary is disrespected, nuns are belittled, last rites are mocked, and priestly vocations are caricatured. In short, that which is uniquely Catholic is trashed. However, the plot and the acting are so deliriously absurd that it is impossible for us to get too worked up about this flick.
It means nothing that the movie has a pro-life message. Stereotypes about Protestant ministers abound, raising the question, Why didnt Gener8Xion choose to mock one of their own clergy? Similarly, given that the films writer, David Hall, has said that his primary interest was in dealing with hypocrisy, why didnt he consult with Sen. Charles Grassley about all those prosperity church pastors being investigated for ripping off their flock? We know why, and thats why the Catholic League exists.
3 comments
I’ve always been wondering about this point for a very long time, and this seems a good opportunity to bring it up. Whenever our separated brethren complain about Catholic practices like individual confession, devotion to the Virgin Mary, a ministerial priesthood, and the like, they always score the Catholic Church but rarely, if ever, score the Orthodox and Eastern Independent churches even though they share with us these practices and beliefs. This can be explained in part by the fact that the Catholic Church is more widespread and prominent, but it smacks more of anti-Catholic sentiment rather than a genuine criticism of what they disagree with. If they are really sincere (and this film doesn’t even seem to be sincere at all from the sound of it) they should mention ALL the other denominations that possess these beliefs and practices.
Did they steal the plot from a tabloid? And how do you pronounce s’thing like ‘Gener8Xion’?
it would be pronounced “Generate Zion”…
I’m very disappointed about this film…I mean, I can take a bit of ribbing about priests (I don’t like it, but I can handle it) but HE KNOCKS OVER THE PRECIOUS BLOOD and ABANDONS the Eucharist on the altar.