Dear Catholic Exchange,
Thank you, CE, for your wonderful content and services; you are a fantastic website! That said, I have a few comments on James Fitzpatrick's book, The Dead Sea Conspiracy: Teilhard de Chardin and the New American Church. Having read a review of the book and seen numerous banner ads on Catholic Exchange, I thought it looked like an interesting read, so I ordered it. The writing was fine, and the story was interesting, but I was quite disappointed. My comment may seem a bit odd to you, so I'll explain.
I have no intention of calling into question Fitzpatrick's orthodoxy, but given his credentials, I had different expectations of the book. The conclusion drawn by the protagonist of the story at the end of the book was that Jesus “matters” because His message causes us to lead “good lives,” but if the Resurrection is little more than a myth, it doesn't really matter. If I wanted a defense of the views of liberal theologians, I'd read Andrew Greeley. I must say Fitzpatrick’s book was hardly what I expected from a CE columnist. I realize it is a work of fiction, and perhaps I am naive, but I believe even fiction writers have an obligation to defend the truth, particularly when they represent their work as “theological entertainment.”
Sincerely,
Stacey Johnson
Dear Ms. Johnson:
Several readers have commented that they are troubled by Dead Sea Conspiracy for the same reasons that trouble you. I think the problem is that some readers confuse the central character's views with mine. I was attempting to portray the main character’s struggle with his faith—and to illustrate how his Catholic background was pulling him toward a full understanding of Christ's role in history, in spite of himself. I was hoping the reader would see that he was coming to grips with the extent to which his hedonistic lifestyle was standing in the way of living life the way the Creator intended it to be lived—that “it is good to be good.” At the risk of sounding pompous, I would say that I was trying to make the same point that Francis Thompson made in his memorable poem “The Hound of Heaven.”
I would encourage any reader who reacts to my plot in the same fashion as Ms. Johnson does to read James Bemis' review of Dead Sea Conspiracy. He understood how the seemingly “heretical” elements of the plot were meant to serve as a defense of traditional Catholicism.
Sincerely,
James Fitzpatrick
Disappointing Graphics
Dear Catholic Exchange:
I enjoyed the article Ten Great Reasons to Have Another Child, by Steven Mosher, but I was very disappointed in the choice of a baby bottle graphic. As Catholics, we should be leaders in promoting breastfeeding. By using bottles when promoting having babies, you are not doing that. Do you know the Church has always taught that mothers should nurse their own babies? Even in 1941, Pope Pius XII in an address to Women of Italian Catholic Action stated: “This is the reason why, except where it is quite impossible, it is more desirable that a mother should feed her child at her own breast.”
I would like to see a consistent effort on behalf of Catholic sites to eradicate all graphics that use baby bottles.
Thank you for your time,
Sabine Summerville
****
I thought the article concerning reasons to have another baby was wonderful, but I object to the baby bottle graphic at the top.
God did not put plastic bottles full of artificial milk manufactured for profit from ingredients procured from the lowest bidder on mothers' bodies. The Catholic Church and our current Pope have both spoken repeatedly on the importance of mothers' milk and breastfeeding. You only reinforce the sick American cultural standard of denying babies their intended food with the graphic you chose to use in promoting having babies.
Please think about this the next time you publish a story where you might consider using this graphic. God designed women's bodies to feed their babies as part of the miracle of pregnancy and birth. We disrespect and disregard His design only at our own and our babies' peril.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Moeller
Professional Mom
Thank you for your feedback. We agree with these concerns and will make a good-faith effort to find or create breastfeeding images for future articles of this kind (and then respond to the thunderstorm of outrage those are sure to engender!).
In JMJ,
Tom Allen
Editor, CE
Editor's Note: To contact Catholic Exchange, please refer to our Contact Us page.
Please note that all email submitted to Catholic Exchange or its authors (regarding articles published at CE) become the property of Catholic Exchange and may be published in this space. Published letters may be edited for length and clarity. Names and cities of letter writers may also be published. Email addresses of viewers will not normally be published.
CE’s Reviews: On a Slippery Slope?
Dear Editor:
I've been reading Catholic Exchange online now for a few weeks. I like many things about it, but as a Catholic who belongs to a family that watches nothing racier than old reruns of the The Beverly Hillbillies and Mission Impossible, I think your movie review forum encourages a double standard, i.e., It's not ok to commit mortal sins, but it's ok to view people on the big screen committing mortal sins for entertainment purposes.
And in your book review forum, comments like that of Kathryn Lively: (“Yes, there are points in the book some may find offensive, the mild oaths, etc., but it is precisely the flaws of these characters that make them more real to me”) really disturb me. She is referring to a teenage heroine who regularly uses the Lord's Name in vain. These “mild oaths” as she calls them are objectively MORTAL SINS.
In today's culture we are bombarded with reasons to let go of our quest for holiness, to allow our senses just a little more freedom from moral purity. Sorry Catholic Exchange, but I believe we're on a slippery slope here.
Kevin McCarthy
Brampton, Ontario
Dear Mr. McCarthy,
Thank you so much for expressing your concern. On some level or other, I assure you, all of us at CE share it. This is not to say we have all come to the same conclusions regarding our involvement with the popular media, both in terms of our consumption and in terms of production (as some of us have a professional background working in these fields).
Jim Caviezel, the married orthodox Catholic actor who is currently portraying Christ in the Mel Gibson film “Passion,” refuses to take his shorts off to film love scenes. In the business, that is a notable position. He does the passionate embracing but tries to draw the line before his actions cross over into immorality.
On the other hand, I don't personally watch a lot of movies. I find there are few worth the time, and some disturb my peace. I also have mixed feelings about actors who do love scenes. The scene might be very moral in the context of the film—i.e., they might be a loving married couple and the camera might move away before it gets too explicit, but then again, they are in bed together, and they aren't really marred to each other. I'd rather not see that. So you see, we might not agree how to define where sin starts in such situations.
Certainly, the books and movies we review contain evil characters who commit dastardly deeds. But there are stories in the Bible about very evil things including rape, murder and mayhem. Even Jesus told stories that featured bad guys. So we can't say that every portrayal of evil is wrong. Jesus told stories to make His point. Were they entertaining? Sure. But the entertainment value was a way to reach the hearts of those who listened to Him. So the fact that something evil is portrayed and that we find it entertaining does not mean that the only function it serves is entertainment; a moral lesson may be conveyed.
In fact, that goes right to the heart of your concern, doesn't it? That some kind of moral lesson is being conveyed is exactly what bothers you, because you find the moral lesson in so much of the popular entertainment to be objectionable. And we agree! There is much in popular media that ranges from the undignified to the degrading and morally repugnant. You say slippery slope. Some of us would say our culture has already fallen over the cliff!
CE focuses a lot on movies because they're the dominant art form of our age. We agree that many are bad, which is why we pan most of them in our reviews. The value in doing this is to dissuade people from seeing them even as they're being aggressively marketed around the country. We think we generally come down hard on the content of movies and books. Sometimes you will see a book or movie given a “pass” but with some kind of caveat noting material that could be objectionable to some readers or viewers. The reviewer will try to explain why the moral lesson in the work remains constructive in spite of these parts. But of course, the final decision is a personal one to be made according to a well-formed and instructed conscience. Parents have the responsibility to set the standards for their children and in no way would we argue with even the strictest position a parent took.
Still, we faithful Catholics can't retreat into our own little Amish-style ghetto communities. There's a world of people out there who need evangelizing! Many of us think we need to be more involved in popular culture in order to bear witness and not abandon the media to the children of this world. Again, not every Catholic will make the same decisions.
When it comes to fictional characters in a book or movie, can the character commit a mortal sin? Of course not. The character is not real and has no soul. If a character commits an act, which if committed by a real person could be a mortal sin, we have to ask what is the moral value of the scene or passage. Is it a warning? Is it necessary to the plot or just gratuitous? Remember that full comprehension and consent of the will must be present for there to be a mortal sin.
The Bottom line is we don't believe we're sacrificing orthodoxy or leading people off the path to holiness. People can take from CE what they want and need as the Spirit directs. Please keep us in your prayers that we remain ever sensitive to His prompting.
God bless you and your family,
Mary Kochan
Contributing Editor
Catholic Exchange
