Cardinal Pell on "The Passion"

Code: ZE04022424
Date: 2004-02-24
Cardinal Pell on "The Passion"
"It Is Strong Meat"
SYDNEY, Australia, FEB. 24, 2004 (Zenit.org).- Cardinal George Pell wrote this commentary on the film "The Passion of the Christ." It appeared in the Sunday Telegraph and on the archdiocese's Web site.

Some excerpts:

The film is 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. It is more genuinely spiritual, even more violent but less erotic than Caravaggio's canvases.

"The Passion" belongs to the turn of the 20th century, the cruellest in history, because of its violence which is explicit and continual. The scourging is worse than the crucifixion.

Those who are searching will be provoked to reflection. I have requested that all senior students in Catholic schools be invited to see the film...

It will help outsiders understand why there have been so many martyrs prepared to die for Christ, (more in the 20th century than any other) and why Christianity has such a profound influence in many different cultures after 2,000 years. The call to follow Christ is personal and primal. There was never any medieval morality play with an impact like this film's.

Generations of believers will see Mel Gibson's "The Passion" as a classic. But it is strong meat. Not for the faint hearted.