TWO Australian Catholic leaders who have seen Mel Gibson’s film The Passion of the Christ have praised its representation of the final hours of Jesus, but have warned it is not for the faint-hearted.
The controversial movie opened in cinemas nationally on Ash Wednesday, with strong bookings from Christian groups.
Cardinal George Pell, who saw the final cut earlier this month, described the film as ‘a contemporary masterpiece, artistically and technically’.
‘It is not absurd to compare it with the paintings of the Italian master Caravaggio because of its beauty and drama.
‘As a film it belongs to the 20th century, the cruellest in history, because of its graphic violence and its technical mastery,’ he said.
‘But more importantly the film shows us how Jesus redeems us from our sins. His message is one of universal love, certainly love for his own people, the Jews.’
Cardinal Pell rejected earlier suggestions from Jewish leaders in the United States that the movie would be anti-Semitic.
Australian Catholic Bishops Conference president, Archbishop Francis Carroll of Canberra and Goulburn, said the movie was very powerful and very confronting.
‘At times it is almost overpowering in intensity and violence,’ he said. ‘I believe it’s a film very worthwhile seeing.’
Archbishop Carroll said that, because of the level of violence, the movie was certainly not to be recommended to children or impressionable people.
He said he did not believe the movie was anti-Semitic, ‘although the Jews would have to speak for themselves’.
He said the Romans came out worse than the Jews because they were the ones responsible for the violence.
For a viewer’s guide to The Passion of the Christ see this week’s print edition of The Catholic Leader.
