Question concerning "The Passion of the Christ"

[Maxirad]

If someone wants The Passion of the Christ to be mandatory viewing for every Catholic high-school senior in the United States of America, what should I say to that person? People on CAF should check out this video before replying.

 

[dshix]

If someone wants The Passion of the Christ to be mandatory viewing for every Catholic high-school senior in the United States of America, what should I say to that person? People on CAF should check out this video before replying.

I think you can just use what Jimmy said in the video. I think he made all the proper points.

 

[RPRPsych]

Mandatory, no. I’d rather stick to an approved Church devotion like the Way of the Cross (especially the classic version by St. Alphonsus) if we’re going to talk about mandatory stuff.

Or better, get the seniors to read from the texts that Gibson used to make his movie: the Gospels, and the writings of Bl. Anne Catherine Emmerich. Reading is good.

 

[JMartyr73340]

If someone wants The Passion of the Christ to be mandatory viewing for every Catholic high-school senior in the United States of America, what should I say to that person? People on CAF should check out this video before replying.

It’s a great evangelization tool for young people. Even secular people are moved by the movie. Unfortunately, there has been so much propaganda against the movie and its creator, I doubt this is possible.

 

[Marie5890]

If someone wants The Passion of the Christ to be mandatory viewing for every Catholic high-school senior in the United States of America, what should I say to that person? People on CAF should check out this video before replying.

Mandatory? No. Infact, that can be quite unwise because for some people, especially young people, it’s just too graphically violent and can cause serious psychological problems.

I was in my 40’s when I watched it. I could only watch it in 2 min. bites during the most violent scenes, and even then, I had nightmares for several weeks

 

[JMartyr73340]

it’s just too graphically violent and can cause serious psychological problems.

Yes, like realizing just how much Jesus loves us. Why not take down the crucifixes in the Churches? Those are pretty graphic as well.

If you’re really worried about the psychological damage being done to children, I suggest you focus on the massive amount of pornography our young men are consuming on a daily basis. As for violence, have you seen Spartacus, Game of Thrones, or Boardwalk Empire? Contrary to what our progressive friends at HBO have said, the primary viewing audience for all of these shows are teenagers. Game of Thrones is the most illegally downloaded show in history, and it is far more graphic - in a demonic, evil way - than Passion of the Christ. In fact, the use of violence in these two movies/shows are so contrary to each other (in terms of purpose) I find it annoying that I have to mention them in the same sentence.

 

[Kit15]

Yes, like realizing just how much Jesus loves us. Why not take down the crucifixes in the Churches? Those are pretty graphic as well.

If you’re really worried about the psychological damage being done to children, I suggest you focus on the massive amount of pornography our young men are consuming on a daily basis. As for violence, have you seen Spartacus, Game of Thrones, or Boardwalk Empire? Contrary to what our progressive friends at HBO have said, the primary viewing audience for all of these shows are teenagers. Game of Thrones is the most illegally downloaded show in history, and it is far more graphic - in a demonic, evil way - than Passion of the Christ. In fact, the use of violence in these two movies/shows are so contrary to each other (in terms of purpose) I find it annoying that I have to mention them in the same sentence.

If a person watches GoT and refuses to watch TPotC, the reason is probably not the violence.

If a person watches TPotC but refuses to watch GoT, the reason is, again, probably not the violence.

If a person refuses to watch GoT AND TPotC, the reason is probably the violence.

And no, most crucifixes do not show Christ completely covered in wounds and drenched in blood. To compare the graphic nature of most commercially available crucifixes to TPotC is very disingenuous. With a few exceptions, they are typically so discreet that most young children don’t initially realize that the depicted body is dead.

 

[Marie5890]

Yes, like realizing just how much Jesus loves us. Why not take down the crucifixes in the Churches? Those are pretty graphic as well.

If you’re really worried about the psychological damage being done to children, I suggest you focus on the massive amount of pornography our young men are consuming on a daily basis. As for violence, have you seen Spartacus, Game of Thrones, or Boardwalk Empire? Contrary to what our progressive friends at HBO have said, the primary viewing audience for all of these shows are teenagers. Game of Thrones is the most illegally downloaded show in history, and it is far more graphic - in a demonic, evil way - than Passion of the Christ. In fact, the use of violence in these two movies/shows are so contrary to each other (in terms of purpose) I find it annoying that I have to mention them in the same sentence.

Crucifixes are far from even close to the graphic nature of “Passion”. Infact, crucifixes normally aren’t very graphic at all.
Perhaps you have never experienced psychological damage as a child due to violence. But that doesn’t mean I haven’t nor others haven’t . The human brain is not fully developed until about the age of 25.

And yes, porn can be as damaging to a child as graphic violence, though that is not the topic of the OP.

Topic of the OP is should “Passion” be mandatory viewing for children. The answer is no, it should not be mandatory.