5.29.2007

gibson and moore in a blender

I recently read an article by Ronald Rohleiser, OMI in the Horizon Magazine published by the National Religious Vocation Conference entitled, "Jesus' deep invitations to contemporary religious life."

One of the points he makes is that religious communities - and the Church in general - need to "live a compassion" that goes beyond liberal and conservative models. "Notice that inside Catholicism," he writes, "everything fits." To make this point he shares something that on the one hand caused me to burst out laughing but that on the other hand is right on target.
In the year 2004, the two most popular movies around the world were Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ and Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 911. The two movies had something in common: both of them were made by Roman Catholics acting on their Catholicism. We have Mel Gibson and Michael Moore inside the same church. Our communities need to start negotiating that. ... Catholicism is big enough for both. If you put Mel Gibson and Michael Moore in a blender, you'd get Dorothy Day, who shows us another way to walk the road of discipleship as a faithful Catholic.

I'm not sure what Ms. Day would say to that, but the point is well taken.

2 comments:

Garpu said...

I thought Mel Gibson was part of a breakaway group, not the RCC? I know his dad is.

Susan Rose Francois, CSJP said...

You are correct, he is a "Traditionalist Catholic" that doesn't recognize all the reforms of the 2nd Vatican Council.