The Sin-Eater

[Zatzat]

Sin-Eating is pure, unadulterate Hollywood bunkum. unrepentant excommunicants are not open to sacraments. There is no priest on the planet that is allowed to confer the sacraments upon an excommunicant until they have repented and are reinstated by the ordinary who has authority to do so. If a person was excommunicated by a local bishop, that bishop or one of his successors can “undo” the excommunication. One excommunicated by the Pope (rare as that may be) could only be undone by the Pope. There isn’t a priest on the planet who has the sacramental effecacy to overturn the excommunication and administer the sacraments to them. Additionally, this whole “sin eating” proposition undervalues the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

Sounds more bureaucratic than the most complicated government bureaucracy could ever hope to be.

 

[josephdaniel29]

Ok, this has got to be one of the oldest resurrected threads I’ve ever seen.

Yours in Christ
Joe

 

[ZDHayden]

First, I hope this reply helps. I saw the movie myself with my Non-Catholic girlfriend. Throughout the movie, I saw very specific anti-Catholic symbolism. The “sin eater” in the movie was supposed to be a priest. The minister was supposed to be the typical fundamentalist evangelical. As you see in the movie, the Sin-Eater was forced into his position and was unsupported by the Bible, while the Protestant was. The Sin-Eater, when “eating” the sins performed ridiculous rituals – including a horrid mis-representation of the Eucharist (he ate bread and drank wine before “eating” the sins). The movie is, essentially a criticism of something that the makers obviously do not understand. No priest is forced into their duty. The Church is supported by the entire Bible. The priest does not take the sins of the repentant upon themselves. The Eucharist is the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, instituted at the Last Supper. As for the rituals – every person finds rituals different from their own (everyone has some) strange and ridiculous. Essentially the movie is an anti-Catholic banter unsupported by history, Scripture, or even the most rudimentary level of human Reason.

On a positive note, the acting was very good.

 

[Orion777]

This is a fictional movie and therefore all material within should be treated as such. It is for entertainment value only. If they wanted indepth reasearch or a Catholic advisor it would have been a documentary. Enjoy the fascination of a fictional Sin-Eater or let it be. Mel Gibson blacklisted himself with his druken, vulgar ramblings and attacks. He is one of my favorite actors (We Were Soldiers by far his best movie) but no sympathy for him.