Hollywood Play Attacks Gay Priests

[Dave]

From the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights

January 29, 2004

HOLLYWOOD PLAY ATTACKS GAY PRIESTS

“A Comfortable Truth: The Story of a Boy and His Priest” opened January 24 in the West Hollywood Lee Strasberg Creative Center; it runs through February 22. The play’s website says the work addresses “the controversial subject of juvenile molestation in the Church.”

Written and directed by Mark Kemble, and produced by David Lee Strasberg, the play was reviewed favorably by Joel Hirschhorn in Daily Variety. Hirschhorn credits the actor who plays the boy for delivering “each church-crucifying zinger masterfully,” and takes particular note of the scene where the boy screams “eat my brains.” To demonstrate that the boy has been traumatized by the molesting priest, the kid is depicted playing in a rock group by the name “Fourth Reich Vatican Nazis.” Thus do Kemble and Strasberg take another shot at the Catholic Church.

William Lobdell of the Los Angeles Times said, “The play’s set looks like a cross between a church and a bombed out train station with a few religious icons, including a busted Madonna fallen to the floor…a crucifix disguised as a piece of junk—scraps of wood and metal topped by an upside-down milk pail with the spout serving as Christ’s nose.”

Here’s what Catholic League president William Donohue said about it:

“When asked about his work, Mark Kemble said the play was about ‘the danger of blind faith in the leaders of any religious organization.’ But this is not true—there is no disparagement of any religion save Catholicism. Of the homosexual scandal in the Church, he says, ‘I don’t think it’s an aberration.’ Nor do I think it’s an aberration that the people responsible for this play are from Hollywood.

“In a time when Catholic and Jewish elites are about to suffer cardiac arrest over Mel Gibson’s film, it is instructive to note that none has said a word about this portrayal of a gay molesting priest. Nor will they—they are too busy instructing Mel how to portray Jews in ‘The Passion.’”

[MJS]

Interesting.

[God Conquers]

That play belongs here: :toilet: Not Hollywood.

[Aloysius]

That play belongs here: :toilet: Not Hollywood.

:toilet: = Holleywood

:cool:

[MJS]

A play is a play. An artistic expression. You don't have to go see it. But, it obviously has the complete right to exist. Don't flush it!

[Aloysius]

why shan't i flush what is filthier than poo?

this play is not an artistic expression, The Sisteen Chapel is an Artistic Expression, the Passion of the Christ is an Artistic expression, hey even Andy Warehall(sp?)'s cambpell's soup can is an artistic expression, but an attack against a priest is a rejection of an apostle, a rejection of an apostle, or "one who is sent" is a rejection of the One who sent him, and the One who sent him is the Great Artist, anything against God i shall not consider artwork because it is against the very author of all beauty and art.

if anyone sins, no one has the right to ridicule them for it. and when they're a priest it is certainly immoral to attach that sin of few to the office of the priesthood. that's called causing scandle, to, of all things, Holy Mother Church. "The Sex Abuse Scandle" should be considered a scandle of TODAY'S CULTURE, which just happened to infililtrate a minority of priests.

anyway, most of what comes out of holleywood IS NOT ART, it's a cheap attempt ant emotional highs and entertainment. it's poo. -_- :toilet:

[MJS]

It is a play, not a movie.

Do you like theatre?

[Aloysius]

it doesn't matter, it's still poo cuz it unjustly attacks the priesthood, apostles, and ultimately God Almighty.

[MJS]

So what about a play on a Catholic person? Would that be wrong? since Catholics are part of the Church?

[M.SIGGA]

if public funds are being used then it's time to get loud.

[Aloysius]

if the play stereotypes Catholics like that the same way it's trying to stereotype Catholic Priests.... yeah

[MJS]

Don't we live our entire lives through stereotypes? How would we organize our thoughts if we didn't use them? I am not saying they can't be harmful.

But why is it bad??

[God Conquers]

It's bad because it is not truthful. It's smut. It's designed to enrich the producer and director at the expense of the Truth and of the minds of the playgoers.

[hyperdulia again]

anywhere between 10 and thirty percent of Catholic priests experience same sex attraction...this number is high...perhaps too high, but it doesn't change the fact that most priests homosexual or heterosexual are good men, who don't molest children, less than one half of one percent of Catholic priests are molestors when you factor in the rates of accusations that actually turn out to be credible and make allowance for non-reported incidents...this number is too high...but it's much smaller than the media makes it sound.

[M.SIGGA]

you made a good point hyper. pedophilia is a mental sickness that is not necessarily associated with homosexual or heterosexual attraction anyway. does anyone know why a west hollywood (i'm guessing put on by homosexuals) would want to do a gay-priest bashing play, or a play implying that a homosexual adult would want to molest a child? I don't think this looks too positive for the gay community.

[hyperdulia again]

The gay left (I use this term, because to merely point to active homosexuals is too broad) is at its core a very anti-Catholic place. It probably seems more important to them to attack the Church than to keep the mud off of their own faces.

[jmjtina]

A play is a play.  An artistic expression.  You don't have to go see it.  But, it obviously has the complete right to exist.  Don't flush it!

with your logic porn can exist and child pornography as well as other hideious things..

It's smut and lies. It's not art, it's TRASH. This society seems to be so desesitized they can't even see a play that encourages a certain negative sterotype should be trashed. I'm sure you've been out in the real world to know that. Not all priests are like that.

When hatred is bred, it is an evil and should be flushed. :toilet:

[jmjtina]

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[MJS]

Hmm...

So you pretty much feel that any depiction of real life is wrong. Whether it is art or film. That if something is real, someone's experience (i.e. having a relationship with a catholic priest), it shouldn't be shown.

So all of the icons in your church, Jesus on the cross.. really, shouldn't be shown... because it is art.

Why are you so against reality. People have been molested by Catholic priests.... this is real.

[hyperdulia again]

No this is attack. I have seen art that has bad priests and abusive nuns inb it. I've even seen art about priest-predators and their victims. The point of this play is not to tell the story of a child who was molested by someone who happened to be a priest, but to level an attack on the Bride of Christ.