Everyone who is baptised is Catholic, if only for a few seconds. Their eternity depends on whether they co-operate with God's graces in the last few seconds of their life.
It is to God alone to say "Welcome" or "I never knew you"
Damien left judgement to God alone as to whether the person was within His church.Are you confusing consecrated ground to ground where Catholics are buried? Do you think that a Bishop actually travelled to Molokai to consecrate that poor little church, canonically erect the Stations of the Cross and consecrate a cemetary? Not very likely!
Isn't the island mostly lava rock? So they found some earth near the church to bury people. The priest, when there was one there, may have blessed the individual graves. (similar to what they do today)
I can't even imagine how many Catholics are buried in consecrated ground whose souls now reside in hell. Remember, burying the dead is a corporal work of mercy.
As it said in the movie, "these people are here awaiting death with nothing to do" of course there were sins of impurity committed far worse than what was hinted at and considering this was a for profit production I was happy to see their restraint.
I've seen worse posted here on CI.
As for their not being properly dressed, really???? What do you think the fashion was for rags back then. It's not like there were clothing stores in operation . In reality I'd wager many were half naked.
Perhaps we should destroy all crucifixes because Our Lord is improperly clothed and placed on our altars to boot!Give me a break. His superiors sent him there for 3 months. His Bishop promised to bring him back after one month. He was instructed not to touch anyone, eat with anyone prepare his own food etc So it looks like their intention was for him to go and offer Mass, hear confessions and possibly convert a few. Under those circuмstances he could have worn a nice clean cassock all the time.
In reality in his many manifestations, he became doctor, nurse, carpenter, repair man, builder, engineer, law enforcer, undertaker, coffin maker, grave digger, lepers advocate, etc would you have him try to repair a roof in a cassock?
What about the priests during the French revolution who cast off their cassocks to impersonate various tradespeople, or Father Miguel Pro during the Cristeros wars? True different circuмstances but dire circuмstances none the less.
No comparison to the NO. Damien tried to get them interested in something other than dying, so he taught them music and instruments among other things. They used what limited talent and ability they had to try to give glory to God in a small rectangular building that didn't even have a proper Sanctuary much less a choir loft.Not on my DVD copy. If it's on youtube I agree it should have been left out.This I missed. I'll rewatch and look for it. Remember, he wasn't a saint yet, just a man, albeit a priest.Hardly. After reading books on Father Damien and "Damien and Dutton, the Two Josephs on Molokai", I think considering it was scripted and produced by lay people, the results were excellent. It's the movie I go to when I'm having a pity party and it slaps me back to reality real quick.Amazing how people view the same movie but see things so totally different.
I do not contest that the movie producers did a good job on expressing the hardship of the life of those who lived at the leper colony. As a movie from a completely secular view it was not that bad.
I guess my biggest issue with the movie was that I have too much respect for the real solidly Catholic Father Damian and I felt like it made him not appear as he should have. The real Father Damian had a great reverence for his attire and his position no matter what he was doing. And even if he did eve take God's name in vain in real life, and people were dressed inappropriately, it is a Catholic belief that movies should still not show such stuff. I know it was made by non-Catholics. Just saying... It was too secular of an approach of a holy man that I esteem that I couldn't keep watching.
It is sort of like the Saint Rita movie that Ignatius Press made. For anyone who does not know the story of Saint Rita it might seem like a good movie. Yet, they put too much effort in making her relatable rather than using the truth made they made her seem very worldly. For example... In reality Saint Rita did not want to get married but did it only after much pressure from her parents. But in the movie it expressed that she was too much "in love" and that she married the man even though her parents disapproved of him and didn't want her to marry him.
I hope what I am saying makes some sense? If the movie was about a secular man visiting and helping the lepers... Sure it wasn't too bad. But... As representing the true Father Damian, it seemed to me as disrespectful and dishonest to his true character. I have been to Maui and we visited close to Molokai (I was too young to be allowed in the actual colony but I got to see it from an overlook). So, maybe I am a bit partial.
I will share some pictures of the true Father Damian and his lepers below.
Topic: MOVIE; Molokai, The Story of Father Damien (Read 2020 times)