One point I haven’t seen anyone recognize in the whole brouhaha over whether the Pope blessed Mel Gibson’s film with the words, “It is as it was,” involves the oddity of Gibson seeking papal approval of anything at all. If I understood correctly, Gibson’s father (with support, if not explicit approval from the movie star) holds the position that John Paul II is not the pope at all, is in fact a heretic. If Gibson sympathizes with his dad’s theology, doesn’t it look more than a little grimly crass to seek an endorsement from a heresiarch, just because that figure would be vastly influential?
Or if Mel isn’t as sedevacantical as his father, does this engender some strain in family relations? Or does show biz trump theology, even for people who take their dogma so seriously that they question the legitimacy of John Paul II?
Posted by AKMA at January 24, 2004 07:51 AM | TrackBackMel Gibson is reputed to be a traditional, conservative Roman Catholic, and his father is said to be a sedevacantist. But I have never seen any evidence that Mel Gibson himself is a sedevacantist. Is there any such evidence, beyond the evidence of association with his father (which of course is beyond Gibson's control)?
In our country and culture, anyone who believes and practices according to the actual teachings of the Roman Catholic Church can be seen as an "ultra-conservative," since most American Catholics are cafeteria Catholics at best. You don't have to be sedevacantist to come across as a Catholic extremist. All you have to do is be a Catholic like Catholics were a few decades ago.
Posted by: Christopher Jones at January 24, 2004 02:26 PMOne of my favorite scenes from Mel's movie Conspiracy Theory is one in which he explains to a pair of nuns taking a ride in his cab that "someone needs to scrape off the festering scab that is the vatican," or words similar to that.
I believe it is considered a mystery how closely Mel aligns himself with his father's views, but I was a bit surprised that he sought out the Pope's view, too.
Posted by: Phillip Winn at January 27, 2004 09:55 AM